#and the key fitting in the key at the end took me 10 MINUTES HELLO??

[kuwupikaa]

Love playing through skyward sword but the lanayru mining facility was genuinely exhausting omfg.

[daydreamgoddess14]

Support System - Epilogue

CH1 | CH 2 | CH 3 | CH 4 | CH 5 | CH 6 | CH 7 | CH 8 | CH 9 | CH 10

MASTERLIST

Just a little ending continuation for you. That's all folks - we're definitely done now 😘 Under the cut so you don't get spoiled before reading Chapter 10!

Epilogue

You got back to Nelson Road from a Fab Four lunch where you’d celebrated the sign off of the AFC Richmond Women’s team. The new season was still only a couple of months in, but the change in jobs had so far been incredible. You needn't have worried about getting on with Keeley, or about Rebecca’s terrifying reputation. The four of you gelled perfectly together, and it only improved when you called in the coaching staff reinforcements. The ethos, philosophy and culture of the club had never been so ingrained in its leadership before and it had helped the club go from strength to strength. You’d stopped by the bakery on the way back to the stadium for a box of cupcakes for Ted, Coach Beard, Roy and Nate and left Rebecca at the foot of her stairs so you could carry on and deliver them.

“I’ll come too, see Ted.” She’d followed you through the changing room. You could hear the team in the gym, the coaches were all in the office except for Roy. 

“Oh. Hiya fellas, seen Roy? I texted him when I left Ola’s.” You looked around as if you were half expecting him to be hiding by his desk, but he wasn't around at all. 

"Haven't seen him in a hot minute, sorry." Ted had replied, eyes only for Rebecca. Nate had gone to check on the players in the gym, Beard had his head buried in his book. 

"Guess I'll leave these here then. Tell him to come and say hi when he turns up?" You asked Beard who tipped his hat. Your afternoon focused on branding opportunities for the women’s team, you’d had some logo ideas you wanted to run by a few people so took the chance to stretch your legs. You said hello to the team in the ticket office, looked in on the players in the gym, “Anyone seen Roy?”

“Nah, sorry!”

“He’s around here somewhere I think.”

“I thought I saw him in the boot room.”

“Not the boot room you melon, the treatment room.” As you received at least 14 different answers, you held up your hand,

“Never mind! Thanks boys.” You carried on up to Rebecca’s office where she was meeting with Sharon, “Sorry, am I interrupting?”

“Not at all, are they the logo options?” Rebecca held out a hand,

“Sure is, seen Roy?”

“I think he’s downstairs.” Sharon smiled.

“He’s got a meeting with me at 4.30 so he’ll be about somewhere.”

“I know, I’m getting Lexie today. Let me know what you think of those and we’ll catch up tomorrow. Bye both.” You left the office and went via your own office to get your things. In the carpark, Roy’s car had gone. Because of his late meeting with Rebecca, you’d gone in separately that morning. You swung into the school car park and waited at the main doors to be let in.

“Oh, I’m sorry - Lexie’s already left today? Phoebe’s uncle collected her?” You rolled your eyes, he’d forgotten about his meeting with Rebecca.

“Ok, not to worry, thanks!” You jumped back in the car and used the voice control to call him. There was no answer so you carried on to your house. You expected to see his car, but it wasn’t there. This was starting to get annoying. You hopped out of the car and went to put your key in the lock, but it wouldn’t fit. “What the fucking fuck is going on today?!” You looked through your key bundle but your house key wasn’t there, it had fallen off. Back in the car, you tried to work out whether he’d have taken Lexie back to the club for his meeting. He still didn’t answer the phone so you went straight to his house. His car was on the drive, you breathed a sigh of relief. The door was locked so you rang the bell and waited for Lexie to answer. Nothing. You rang the bell again. At your hip level, the letterbox flipped open,

“You need to use your key.” Lexie whispered.

“I don’t have a fucking key?” It had been on your to-do list for the last few weeks since you and Roy had talked about it. You already had a spare for your house and easily handed it over to him. You looked back down at your keys and saw a new, different key where your house key had been. The letterbox closed again, you slid the new key into the door handle and it clicked smoothly, the door opening. Just inside, Roy and Lexie were standing with a house shaped helium balloon and a little cake made in the shape of Roy’s house. Everything fell into place in your brain. “I do have a key.” You realised.

“If you want it?”

“Roy’s decorated my bedroom!” Lexie squealed, his hand clamped over her mouth gently,

“Oi! Don’t ruin it!” She giggled and swung herself around using his arm as leverage. You looked up at him,

“Not just a key?”

“I was thinking we could move in together? I never want to know a world without you both.” You couldn’t stop the tears even if you’d tried, you rushed into his arms.

“We’d love to.”

FIN

[alovesreading]

Constant Repeat | Part 13

Summary: Having worked at Focus Creeps for a year, Ella knows that as a production assistant and part of the crew, there’s one important rule: don’t interact with the talent unless it’s needed. But once she meets Arctic Monkeys, and the recording of the music videos for their upcoming fourth studio album starts, the band seem to become her exception. Not only because they treat her more like a friend than just someone else they’re working with but when Alex continuously makes her blush with his flirting, so enthralled by her that he forgets he’s got a girlfriend, Ella finds herself growing closer to him. As videos are filmed, wrapped and edited, the friendship lines become blurry. Situations unfold, secrets are told and others are kept under lock and key, but how long can Alex and Ella endure being stuck in each other’s minds on constant repeat.

Word Count: 24.9k

Story Warnings: Throughout this series there will be suggestive talk, jealousy, cheating, alcohol and drug use, angst, smut.

A/N: Well hello... It's the one we've been waiting for and I'm actually fucking jumping in my spot as I write this. Cannot wait for you to read this, and yes the pictures in the moodboard are what you're thinking. Safe to say it’s gonna get a bit steamy, enjoy ;) xx

Masterlist

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | 

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

Ella woke up slightly terrified yet excited that Saturday morning.

She hadn't gone on a first date since the one she went with her ex at the start of the previous year and after everything that had happened with him, the prospect of going on a date, even if it wasn't more than a last minute plan, was wracking her nerves.

The feeling had made her almost miss breakfast, her appetite almost gone until she started feeling faint and she realized that if she wanted to actually not have a miserable day then she'd have to eat.

She had gone downstairs to the hotel's restaurant in a zombie-like state, ordering herself some scrambled eggs and pancakes so the homely feeling of the food made her feel better. And it did.

When she got upstairs, she took a shower and lounged in bed, still in her robe and letting her hair air dry, until it was at least half past twelve. The date wasn't until four but she figured she'd slowly get ready so she'd not freak out about the date and bail out of it at the last minute.

Ella had been absentmindedly straightening her hair and curling the ends of it when her phone rang, and it was none other than Mrs. Healy.

"Good afternoon Miss Hayes, are you ready for today?" Flo greeted her with a chipper tone in her voice, Ella could practically see the beaming smile on the artist's face just from her voice.

Biting on her bottom lip, she let the phone rest on her lap as she continued with the next section of hair and admitted, "I'm actually nervous..."

Flo cooed at her, "Good but also don't be. He's an absolute dream."

The tiny piece of information only made Ella more curious about the person's identity, who she now knew was a male but that being the only hint she'd gotten had her somewhat obnoxiously asking, "Are you finally gonna tell me who it is?"

But all she got was another vague answer, "All you have to know is that he's fit and I know you'll get on with him perfectly well."

At least the reassurance that they would get on well was easing Ella's nerves a little. Not as much as she wished though, but that was because she knew herself and when she first met anyone, she got shy and was a bit awkward, so she was praying that she'd be able to get a bit of courage not to make a fool out of herself.

Thankfully Florence had stayed on the phone with Ella as she finished doing her hair and she'd actually video called her when was doing her makeup, making her laugh throughout it all and somehow making her forget about how tense she had been for a bit.

Matty had just come back from a meeting when Ella was showing Flo the dress she had gotten in Manchester for the date and, to Flo's dismay, he had almost slipped and told Ella who it was that she was seeing in merely an hour from then.

"Matthew!" Flo had exclaimed loudly before the name fell from his lips and he had quickly thrown his hand over his mouth with wide eyes.

His honest, "I'm so sorry." sounded muffled behind his hand and it only got an eye roll from his wife.

Ella was gutted that her only chance to find out had gone that way, telling Flo, "Why are you so fast?" with a sorrowful voice which had the British woman laughing.

Flo took her husband's close mishap as a sign to let the girl go, "You're gonna have to get faster Miss, it's quarter past three and it's a twenty five minute walk over there."

"Shit, right." Ella cursed under her breath, realizing she needed to get dressed already and leave as soon as she could so she wasn't late.

"You're gonna look stunning, hun." Flo reassured her since she seemed to start growing panicky, "I'm gonna leave you now so you can change but you have the best time Ellie, alright?"

Ella pursed her lips at the camera and clutched her chest, "Thanks Flo, love you."

Flo grinned sweetly at her American friend and reciprocated, "Love you too. And let me know how it goes, alright?"

"Will do, but I don't promise anything too interesting." Ella made sure to make that point clear, she didn't have much expectations for the date just so she wouldn't end up feeling defeated for it not meeting whatever she could imagine it to be if she allowed herself to.

But Florence was in heavy doubt of it not being interesting considering she knew who Ella was meeting with. So she offered Ella a gallic shrug, "Yeah, well... We shall see about that."

The artist looked as if she was holding back laughter so Ella narrowed her eyes at her and sternly inquired, "What?"

Which wasn't answered because Flo played dumb and simply said, "Okay byeee! Love you!" loudly before hanging up the phone.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

Ella walked the best she could in her high heeled chelsea boots which were not a great pick when mixed with how nervous she was and how far she'd had to walk. She had debated getting a taxi when she was walking through the hotel lobby but decided against it when she realized that if she did, she'd get there quicker and she wanted to stall as much as she could.

She wasn't even late yet, ten minutes left for the clocks to strike four in the afternoon and she was merely five minutes away. The whole walk, she had been practicing in her head whatever she could say to the guy she was meeting with, just to prevent embarrassing herself. If anything went wrong though, she had brought her camera with her and a few rolls were stuffed in her pocket so that she could at least take the opportunity to take pictures.

She had gone from any topics she could come up with about herself, deciding against being the one to mention her tragic love life and definitely not touch the subject of her lack of driving skills when it came to manual transmission—she had enough with the Monkeys teasing about it even after two years—, and picking a few questions that could be interesting to ask the guy.

But all the inquiries and words she had been rehearsing died in her throat when she rounded the corner on the end of the restaurant's street and she saw the tall guy smoking a cigarette, leaning on a lamppost right by the entrance of the establishment.

Ella thought of making a run back to the hotel, hesitating which way to go and how it would work with her long dress but his eyes fell on her before she could make up her mind and when he smiled sweetly at her, cigarette perched between his lips, she knew it was too late.

On Ella's face a shy smile broke and she gave him a little wave before approaching him, faking confidence as she got closer until he was only a few feet away so she said, "Oh hi, I wasn't expecting you."

Her face was burning and she knew he could see it because he smirked down at her, and cheekily asked, "Were you hoping for someone else?"

Looking up at him through her eyelashes, Ella smiled harder at his playfulness and in a rush of braveness she chose to play along, "Do you really want to know the answer?"

He took a drag of his cigarette and let the smoke out steadily as he shook his head, "I'm just hoping you remember my name."

And how could Ella forget, "Of course I remember you, George."

George hummed, taking one last drag as he took in her appearance and he grinned mischievously when seeing the dark satin and lace of her dress contrasting on her skin, her leather jacket making her look even more stunning and coincidentally matching the one he was wearing.

"Glad you haven't, Ella." The drummer replied with a wink, dropping the bud on the ground and stepping on it before taking something out of the pocket of his dark jeans, "Flo sent this for you."

An involuntary "Oh." fell from Ella's lips, entirely intrigued by what could be that friend had wanted to tell her that couldn't be said on the phone because George handed her a folded piece of paper that only said Ellie x on the front.

Ella carefully opened it, trying her best to avoid George seeing it—which was a bit of an issue since he was so tall he could've easily read if he looked down—and she instantly blushed harder when she read Get the nice kind of messy ;) x

A flashback of the moment at Glastonbury when she had been gawking at George and she had let slip how fit she found him came to the forefront of her mind and she couldn't help herself getting a little flustered at the mere thought of it.

In an attempt to try and play it cool, Ella folded the note and shoved it in one of the pocket's of her leather jacket, clearing her throat, adjusting the strap of her camera on her shoulder and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear like it was all fine.

But George could see her cheeks bright pink, the rush of color even going to the tips of her ears which she had just let show with her last action. "What did she say?" He had kept his promise that he wouldn't open the note when Florence gave it to him earlier that day, even though he had been really tempted too, especially when he realized Matty knew what it said for he was giggling when his wife handed it to him.

Ella didn't give him an answer though, only a little cough that acted as a coverup of her avoiding his gaze and a subtle shrug, "Just a little joke."

"Can you share?" He tried further, his hand coming to nudge her softly in the arm.

Not even that helped her answer change. She shook her head and said a shy, "Not really."

"I see how it is." George had narrowed his eyes at her and added, "S'alright, I'll remember that." which was a promise that had Ella biting her tongue.

"Shall we go inside?" The drummer said then, watching her struggling to come up with a response to his previous statement.

The new question was much easier to reply to, a soft "Yes." falling from her lips, breathlessly.

And he took her breath even more when he let her walk ahead, only to rest his hand on her lower back delicately and casually comment, "You look beautiful by the way. Really like that we're matching with the leather jackets."

The opportunity to not acknowledge the compliment was perfect because she felt like she was going to explode under George's attention. She giggled and nodded, "What a great coincidence huh?"

His answer being, "Hot coincidence." accompanied by a wink didn't make it easy for her though and she found that being on a date with George Daniel meant blushing every five minutes even if the chat was about mundane topics.

They had talked about their hometowns, to which George had found the opportunity to say how much he liked cowgirls and comment on how good she looked at Glastonbury with her boots. They had exchanged stories about their jobs, Ella asking all that came to her mind about producing music which she found fascinating that he was the one to produce all of his band's songs. They had told each other how they had ended up doing what they were doing currently, Ella cooing constantly when George told her how the guys became friends and how the band had come together, George being fascinated about her knowledge on films and everything to do with photography and cinematography.

Then he had asked her about her hand tattoo, smirking when he rubbed his thumb over it and asking if she had any more which ended up in them sharing the amount of ink they had on their bodies which George beat her to by an incredible amount. They both had ended up taking their jackets off and showing each other each piece they had on their skin.

Eventually, the chat had come back to the band and Ella had asked him whereabouts they had toured so far, her jaw dropping the more his list continued and she genuinely had a hard time wrapping her head around them being relatively new to the mainstream scene when they were already going to all those places.

She'd been so amazed at every place he'd mentioned that she'd ended up telling him it was her first time in England.

"Really? First time here?" He asked intrigued before taking a sip of his wine.

She nodded because she had a bit of food in her mouth and she waited until she swallowed to correct him, "Anywhere outside the States really."

George was quite surprised about that, "No way. Are you liking it here then?"

"Yeah, it's quite nice." Ella admitted with a soft smile, "Love how different it is from what I've grown up seeing."

He hummed, "Have you been anywhere else other than London and Glasto?"

And she nodded, her smile growing as she said, "Went to Sheffield and Manchester yesterday and the day before."

"Ohhh, big up Manc." He smirked, liking hearing that she'd visited the city he held dearest to his heart, but then he traced back to what Ella had said and with an eyebrow raised added, "Sheffield though... Did the lads take you?"

"Alex did, yeah." She mindlessly answered as she gathered some more food with her fork and took it in her mouth.

"Right, Turner." The drummer nodded, and before he could let the subject go he had to mention, "Thought you two were going out actually. Surprised me when Flo called me and asked if I wanted to go on a date with you."

"Oh no, we're not. But god, that's embarrassing." Ella winced at the information, both pieces of them.

George smirked playfully, "Dating Turner?"

Ella laughed in response to that, shaking her head before clearing up, "Flo asking you if you wanted to go out with me. You know you could've said no."

He frowned at her, like she had just said the most outrageous thing and he wholeheartedly asked, "But why would I?"

"Oh George, stop it." Ella warned him, pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes at him.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" George reached his hand out to touch hers, the one with her 'Pure Desire' tattoo again, and she almost shivered under it.

Ella let her fork down beside her plate and fanned herself with her hand as she said, "You're making me blush."

But that was nothing that would keep him quiet, because he honestly admitted, "Yeah and I quite enjoy doing it."

The rest of the date had been spent between good food, good wine, laughter, a picture she had taken of George, and chatter that had been really nice. Getting to know George had been like a breath of fresh air, that's why when they had left the restaurant, the drummer had offered to walk her back to her hotel and Ella hadn't even doubted to accept.

He had taken a few detours, taking her around to places that she hadn't seen from where he had hilarious and very wholesome stories of his childhood and teenage years when he would come around to London with the lads and other friends just mess about.

And Ella had been grateful for the anecdotes because she was making sure to capture each place in its unique beauty and she knew behind each shot she'd have the memory of what George had shared with her.

George watched her closely every time she took a picture, taking in all that she did every time she wanted to take a picture. She was so adorable to him, the way she lit up when she'd pressed the shutter and looked at him excitedly when she rolled the film.

The two had walked through a gorgeous park, one that was bustling with people. Some were running, others having picnics, some walking their dogs, some biking past everyone and some just leisurely taking a stroll like they were.

They had been approached by the cutest dog who had strayed away from beside their owner who was sitting on a bench and excitedly walked up to them.

Ella cooed as she crouched down, petting the husky's head and put on a funny baby voice to greet the dog. George had chuckled, crouching down right beside her and showered the dog with attention as well.

From the bench, they heard the owner apologize to which they replied that it was alright and complimenting him on how gorgeous his dog was.

They asked about it, which ended up being her and called Daisy, which had Ella and George cooing again.

She had asked the owner if she could take a picture of Daisy and he had nodded right away, telling her to please do so. Ella had the biggest smile on her face as she looked through the viewfinder and tried focusing the shot, George had helped her by waving his hand right on top of the camera so it looked like Daisy was staring into the lenses perfectly.

Before they could continue walking after managing to get a few pictures of Daisy, Ella asked the owner for an email address so she could send the pictures to him and she was so glad the man had one.

After saving it on her phone's notes app, Ella and George waved the man and Daisy goodbye. The dog wagging her tail around as she stayed sat beside her owner on the bench this time.

Ella blew the husky a kiss and said loudly, "Bye Daisy darling!"

That just made George's chest swell and in a lack of any more self control, he wrapped his arm around Ella's waist and pulled her into him, her chest hitting his chest and making them both stop.

"Oh hi." Ella giggled at the sudden action, her hands had subconsciously ended up on his chest after that.

But any other words died in her throat when he dipped his head and trapped her lips with his.

Ella hummed into the kiss, which was a dizzying combination between sweet and determined. His left arm stayed wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush into his chest but the other one came up so his hand cupped her jaw and kept her at the perfect angle for him to kiss her.

Her arms slowly moved up until they were wrapped around his shoulders and she let her fingers tangle in his hair. It was soft and slightly long which she really liked. His tongue brushed against her bottom lip, his fingers clutching her tighter and she let her mouth open so they could taste each other.

She had completely forgotten where they were until a cyclist rushed past them and rang their bell multiple times, startling them out of the kiss. Yes we are in the middle of the road but that was fucking rude, she thought. She had really enjoyed that kiss, and it showed in the way she looked up at George with rosy cheeks and something written on her face.

"I liked that." George cheekily stated, getting ahold of her hand and resuming their walk.

Ella hummed, trying not to giggle because of the feeling that was bubbling inside her. "Yeah, I liked that too."

She felt like a teenager. Blushing to herself while she walked hand in hand with the person she had a crush on, and it was so ridiculous but so relieving at the same time to feel that kind of pathetic elation instead of despair and heartache.

Their chatter resumed, only it was getting more and more flirty and she liked where it was going until they managed to get to the hotel she was staying at and she sighed sadly when they were a few feet away from the big glass doors.

"This is me." Ella mumbled, squeezing his hand in hers but he didn't let go.

He hummed as if hesitant of believing what she'd just said and instead he suggested, "Don't you wanna take another walk around the block?"

"George, my feet hurt." They had been hurting for a while but she hadn't said anything just to not ruin things.

The drummer came to a quick solution, "I'll carry you."

Which made her chuckle, "Sure you would." She genuinely didn't want the date to end so in a bit of a rushed decision, she bargained, "Don't you... Do you wanna come upstairs?"

He got a kick of excitement inside him but he wanted to play it cool, so he joked, "What, are you gonna take my picture?"

Ella held back a snort of laughter, and shrugged as if it was fine by her that he only wanted that. "If that's what you want." There was a little voice in her head that told her not to but there was another one that purely encouraged her to have fun.

"Yeah, that works." George casually said, like he wasn't praying that he got lucky to even get another kiss out of her.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

"Where'd you want me?" George turned to look at her as she dropped her camera on one of the bedside tables and shed her jacket off to perch on the back of a loveseat close to the door.

Ella took one of the new rolls out of her pocket and changed it for the one she'd almost fully used earlier that day. "Wherever you're comfortable." She indicated the drummer, focused on perfectly lining the roll before she could turn to him.

"Bed's quite comfy." She heard George say from behind her and when she looked up to see him, she found him lying on his side, head perched on his hand and a smirk on his face. "Paint me like one of your french girls." He teased, resting his other hand dramatically on his forehead.

The American girl giggled at his antics, "You're such an idiot." She shook her head as she came up to the bed, and tried looking at the scene through her lenses but she wasn't quite convinced by the shot.

George watched her struggle, stepping backwards and forwards, to the sides before sighing. He reminded her, "I'm not used to being the one to pose for the camera. You're gonna have to guide me."

"Okay." She thought about it as she bit on her thumb and once a vision came to her, she started instructing him, "Lean into your forearms, sideways so you fit in the bed." But she found what was bothering her and it was that his legs were half hanging off the bed.

"Why are you so tall, oh my god." Ella went over to the drummer and prompted him to go further into the bed, perched one of his sock-clad feet up on the bed and the other leg stayed stretched on the bed. "There, now look at me."

George looked at her with a blank face first to which she complained about him not smiling but when he smiled he started giggling and if there had been something she had learned about George quite early into her date was that his laugh was incredibly contagious so she found herself shaking with laughter as she tried to take his pictures and she had to call him out for it.

"Don't laugh! You're making me laugh!" Ella scorned him, struggling to sound serious between her giggles.

"Sorry, sorry." He apologized halfheartedly, swallowing his laughter until he went back to a stoic face and he gave her the perfect soft smolder.

Ella hummed in satisfaction of that frame and then she moved onto instructing him to do the next pose, "Throw your head back a bit and close your eyes." He silently listened and did as she said which earned him a sweet, "Just like that." from her.

Her words made George give her a look though, one that had Ella lightly blushing which she hid behind her camera. "What?" She asked into the air, and warned him, "Don't look at me like that."

George chuckled to himself, wondering if she was that naive or if she was playing dumb but she took another picture of him and, purposely, he complained, "My leg's cramping." to then throw himself back on the bed, ending up completely splayed over the duvet and breaking the pose.

"George!" Ella scolded him, a bit of amusement sneaking through her words.

He groaned in response and without moving, told her to "Just take a picture like this."

Ella clicked her tongue and shook her head, "I can't even see your face."

"Come here so you can see it." He resolved easily for her, making her roll her eyes but in the end having to do just as he said because he really wasn't moving.

She tried getting a picture from above while standing beside the bed and she just couldn't. "That's an awkward angle, look at me." She tried to get him to turn to his side again but he closed his eyes and shook his head. "Need you on your side." She said explicitly this time but he didn't let up either.

Instead he suggested, "Why don't you just get up here?" He patted the bed, right next to his hip and she blushed just thinking about it. At her silence, he opened his eyes and turned his head to the side to encourage her with a "C'mon."

He offered his hand so she could use it as leverage to kneel on the bed on each side of his hips and hover above him. She struggled as she did so because she was growing nervous and therefore clumsy. "Fucking hell, George." She cursed under her breath, seeing him from above was an angle that she didn't know if she could handle.

"What?" George bit his bottom lip to not let a smirk break on his face.

Yet, not even that kept her from knowing that he knew just what he was doing but she wouldn't say anything, because she was enjoying this a lot more than she intended to. So she stuck to just replying, "Nothing." as she took yet another picture of him.

Remembering his tattoos, Ella bit her bottom lip for a few seconds before hesitatingly asking, "Why don't you take your jacket off?"

George let his hands rest right above her knees and squeezed her legs as he teased, "Is that code for something?"

She hoped her blush wasn't obvious so she could play off her nonchalant, "For 'I want to see your tattoos', yes."

It went right over his head though, because he kept smirking as he sarcastically replied, "Right, right."

She moved so he could take the piece of clothing off without her hovering over him but when he was done and laying on the bed again, he patted his right side so she could move her left leg there and have her hover over him properly again.

"How's that look?" He asked cheekily as his hands went to touch her legs again, the skin up to her mid thighs showing because her dress slit allowed it to open and rise up in the position she was in.

"Amazing." She breathlessly compliment, making him raise an eyebrow at her.

The shutter went off again and, as she rolled the film, he tested the waters, "Do you want to see them all?"

"Sure." The word came out so soft it could've gone with the wind, his hands leaving her thighs for a second to come grab the bottom of his shirt.

"Top's coming off next then, is that alright?" He asked for confirmation first and she nodded eagerly, her pupils dilating in anticipation.

He shed himself off his shirt in the constricted space he had, Ella was so spaced out that she hadn't moved but it wasn't a problem for George. If anything, his smirk grew at her inability to act and it got bigger when he threw it somewhere across the room and Ella was shamelessly gawking at his naked top half.

After a minute of Ella's eyes wandering everywhere, George brought her back to reality by letting his hands come over her thighs again. She trembled at the same time as the drummer said, "Ella?"

"Yeah?" She asked, slowly coming back to reality. Her brain had been completely taken over by the view of the taut muscles of his arms littered by colorful ink, a pair of symmetric 'broken' tattoos on both sides of his collarbones and his torso beautifully chiseled with a defined six pack.

"When are you taking the picture?" He reminded her trying not to smirk too hard not to put her off.

"Shit, sorry." She said under her breath and, quickly focusing, finally took a picture of him like that.

There was a heavy silence that hung over them, the trail of his fingers making her skin grow hot and her throat going dry at the growing need for anything at all. So Ella found herself surprised when he broke the silence to ask her, "Can I take your picture?"

"Mine?" She repeated like she'd heard wrong.

But George nodded entirely sure, and let her know, "You look really pretty from here."

In a feeble attempt not to have him do that, Ella reminded him, "You don't know how to."

"Matty had a film camera a few years ago, I know how to." George surprised her even further when he explained and just to try a bit harder, he pouted at her and said, almost begging, "Please?"

"Okay." She let herself accept, her mind too distraught by the view beneath her to even fight.

Once she handed him the camera, he lifted it up to his eyes and let out a chipper, "Smile." as an instruction, which she followed only just a bit shyly.

She was about to get the device back from him when he pulled it away from her grasp and pleaded, "Another one please?"

She sighed at the drummer's exaggerated pout, so it turned into a giggle and that was when the shutter went off. Her cheeks burned again when he complimented as he rolled the film, "Stunning."

Letting the camera rest beside them, George tried his luck and let his hands rub on the skin of her thighs a bit further up. She didn't refuse it, he could clearly see the growing hunger in her eyes as she looked down at him so he continued, letting his gaze trail down her body to drink in all of her but when he reached down to her legs was when he caught a slight glimpse of red ink on her left thigh that made him ask, "Do you have more tattoos?"

He didn't remember her mentioning any other tattoos than the ones she'd shown him at the restaurant. So when she nodded, he couldn't help but ask, "Where?"

"One, right here." Ella grabbed his right hand so he could touch over the fabric of her dress where the one on her rib was. Her eyes were looking right into his and his lips drew open further when she continued, "And this one here." lifting the fabric up to show her 'Divine Feminine' tattoo on her leg.

George let his right hand fall until it reached the one on her thigh, Ella still clutching the satin in her first so he could fully see it. He rubbed on the red ink on her skin as he stared at it, eliciting goosebumps to break on Ella's entire body.

He looked up and asked with a low voice about the only one he hadn't seen yet but she'd let him touch over her dress, "What's the other one?"

"A word." She vaguely said, as if he was encouraging him to continue asking about it.

"Which word?" His fingers were trailing further up, making her knees go completely weak. They had been hurting from hovering over him for so long but his touch had been the thing to finally have her sit on his lap.

And that was when she had felt him growing hard in his jeans.

His fingers had already been making her every thought go straight down to her core so Ella was driven by lust when she fully lifted the satin up and shed the dress off her body, leaving her only in her underwear and in full show for George.

It was involuntary, his hip jerking forward and pressing on Ella's center, his mouth agape at the sight and he grew even more breathless when Ella rolled her hips against his hardening cock.

"Fuck." He cursed under his breath, taking one quick look at the strange word on her rib before perching himself up on his left forearm to wrap his right hand around her neck and pull her in for a hungry kiss.

She leaned further into him, one arm wrapping around his shoulders and digging into his hair to pull on it as their lips moved with each other. Her fingers tugging on his hair made him groan into her mouth and, as payback, he tightened his fingers around her neck, eliciting a loud moan from her.

George pushed himself up with his left hand until he was sitting on the bed, his right arm wrapped around Ella's waist to keep her flush against him. Their tongues tasted each other and their breaths grew heavy when they started rolling their hips, meeting in the middle and creating a delicious friction that soon enough forced them to break the kiss only to gasp in pleasure into each other's mouths.

His fingers came to graze the ink on her left rib, her desperate side having her sink her hips down to roll against him and turned his, "What does it mean?" into a gorgeous moan. Their lips brushed as he asked and Ella responded to his sound with a mewl of her own and when that reached his ears, George forgot ever asking anything for he couldn't wait any longer to feel her lips on his again.

The kiss grew needy then. His hand went from her ribs down to knead the flesh of her ass, fingers harshly digging into her skin and encouraging her to move against him. Her clit was getting so stimulated from only being covered by the thin material of her lace thong against his jeans which meant she couldn't kiss him any longer.

A string of moans fell from her as she quickened her pace, getting louder as she went but her actions were interrupted when George clutched her tightly by her middle and swiftly turned them around so it was Ella resting on her back on the bed with him hovering right over her.

Her breath hitched in her throat at the sudden change of positions, her hand flying to cup his face and bring his lips back on hers and wrapping her legs around his waist to pull his hips into her core in a desperate attempt to have the friction back.

The feeling of his hard on coming down to rub harshly against her every time he bucked his hips forward was making her head spin. He started off by teasing her with the friction and leaving her hanging for a few seconds before going back in but when she started gasping into his mouth, he kept himself close to her and relentlessly rolled his hips on hers, hard cock pressing deliciously against her throbbing clit.

The pace grew faster, making it impossible for her to continue moving her lips with his so he took it as a sign to continue on with what he wanted to do first. Unfortunately, that meant his hips stopped moving and left her throbbing and clenching around nothing but he made it up to her with his lips all over her.

Wet kisses trailed down her neck, his lips taking their time to give every bit of her skin attention on the way down. Kissing, sucking, licking. His fingers ran down her sides until they clutch tightly on her hips, fingers pressing hard on the skin there and making her cry out in pleasure even louder.

Her breath was heavy by the time he stopped sucking bruises all over her chest and abdomen, her fingers tangled in his hair and tugged on it so he could come back up but instead his tongue ran flat from just above her belly button agonizingly slowly up until his nose bumped against the hem of her bra.

George looked up at her through his lashes, teeth coming to bite on the fabric and tugging them the slightest bit down so she knew what he wanted to do and Ella desperately nodded.

Without much of a proper attempt to take the piece of clothing off, he just tugged down the lace cups on it and let her tits spill out freely for him. He groaned from the pits of his chest, hips bucking forwards into the mattress harshly in search of some relief for himself.

But not letting any more seconds go by, George dove to suck one of her nipples into his mouth. Groaning around it, the vibrations of the noise causing white heat to run straight down to Ella's throbbing wet cunt.

He switched the sucking for flicking it with his tongue, blowing cold air and smirking as her nipple hardened at his actions, ending with a soft bite and tug that had Ella loudly saying his name in call for mercy.

She needed something, anything. She felt herself clenching around nothing and it was almost torturous. But her cries fell on deaf ears for he moved onto her other nipple and repeated his process. Ella was only ruining her underwear further, so wet she felt uncomfortably sticky with her thong still on.

"George, baby, please–" She pleaded in anguish when he started sucking bruises on her tits, biting them until she whimpered loudly under him.

"What do you need Ellie?" He asked sweetly, a stark contrast to his vicious attack on her chest.

"Anything. Just–" She tried to say, her words catching up in her throat as her desperation for release clouded her logic and made her sound stupid.

So she relied on grabbing one of his hands from her hips and guided it down to where she needed him most. The simple graze of one of his fingertips on her swollen clit eliciting a pathetic mewl out of her.

"Oh sweetheart," George tutted, "Made quite a mess, haven't you?" His pointer finger ran up and down her clothed core slowly and so faintly Ella didn't know if she was imagining it.

Applying a bit more pressure assured him to hear every one of Ella's needy sounds and feeling like she had waited enough, he left a light feather kiss over her center.

"Need help cleaning up this mess, yeah?" His words were sweet, like he was finally taking pity on her. The thought of him doing absolutely anything at that moment sounded so fucking good her hum in agreement sounded more like a whine, barely able to make eye contact with him in her hazy mind.

His long tongue ran flat over her underwear, wetting even more than it already was and he moaned at the taste of her soaking through it. His fingers tugged the fabric down her legs and threw it somewhere behind him in record time, and he found himself almost drooling at the sight of Ella completely exposed for him.

If Ella'd had any hint of inhibition left in her, she would've tried to close her legs under his attentive gaze but he was entranced and she'd had it with waiting any longer so she propped her legs wide open and squirmed in her place.

"George, please."

Her pleading was so sweet, so desperate, he couldn't deny her. So he dipped his head in between her legs and started lapping at her like a starved man. At the first proper taste he had moaned loudly, tongue running up and down her slit to gather as much of her as he could and enjoying every drop of her on his tongue.

"Are you not gonna continue taking my picture?" George interrupted his task to tauntingly ask, going back to using his tongue on her, this time flicking it up and down quickly on her clit and making her shiver.

Her words caught in her throat when he didn't relent his actions, "Right– F-fuck! Right now?"

Only allowing himself to stop for the amount of seconds it took him to say, "Yes baby, be a good girl and take my picture."

That 'good girl' had made Ella roll her eyes in utter pleasure. Her head turned quickly to see where he'd left the camera and brought it to her eyes to take a picture as fast as she could. Her thoughts were already becoming clouded by the growing heat in her lower belly.

His disheveled dirty blonde hair in between her legs, his arms underneath her legs and hands clutching her thighs in place was what she captured in that frame. The shutter went off letting George know she'd done as he'd said and he congratulated her by praising her with a proud, "Such a good girl." and a few kisses to her clit which made her jolt.

He went back down, trying to clean up the mess of slick and saliva that was dripping down her inner thighs and onto the duvet and a desperate Ella had started rocking her hips against his face, trying to steer him back to where she wanted him to be and, to her satisfaction, he followed the silent instruction by going back to her center and this time pointing his tongue and dipping it inside her.

Her legs instinctively closed around his head, eliciting a breathy laugh from him that hit her core as he continued tongue fucking her. His hands came to spread open her legs again, holding her limbs down on the bed strongly, not allowing her to move any longer.

The feeling of his wet tongue dipping in and out of her had her growing louder, begging and pleading with him not to stop, but he did.

In that moment, Ella swore she could cry as she'd felt herself nearing closer to the edge but just before she could pathetically let her frustrated tears roll down, his lips wrapped around her throbbing clit and he sucked on it applying the perfect amount of pleasure. Enough pressure for her to let out a string of moans of his name and then a bunch of "Yes! Fuck yes!", hands flying down to tangle her fingers in his hair and keep him in his place.

"I'm gonna cum!" She yelled out loud, eyes shut tightly since the pleasure impeded her from keeping them open, and when George started humming as he sucked her clit, she was done for.

Her legs trembled under his hold, toes curling and her fingers surely tugging his hair tighter than she was before. She blacked out as her orgasm hit her hard, the oxygen in her lungs leaving her entirely as her back arched off the bed and she came back when his incessant sucking became too much for her oversensitive self and she pulled him back off her.

He giggled, completely entranced by her fucked out state. Watching her cum had been an experience but god didn't she look beautiful with her chest heaving, bruises looming on her skin, a flush to her face and chest, a thin coat of sweat making her body and face shine.

But before he could give her any more attention, his gaze fell back to her cunt and it was glistening with arousal. She tasted so good to him, so he wasted no more time to lick her clean. Her legs trembled at the resumed contact of his tongue on her sensitive core, whimpers stubbornly leaving her as he went.

Her fingers had left his hair alone but her left hand cradled his head as he lapped up at everything she gave him and after a whole minute of him meticulously licking clean every inch of skin that had been wet with her arousal, he started a trail of kisses from her mound until he reached her belly button.

Flashing a smile up at her, George rested his chin on her lower stomach and she couldn't hold herself back from brushing his messy hair back almost adoringly, post orgasm haze making her extra appreciative of him and his skilled tongue work.

His fingers rubbed circles on the top of her thighs, "Feel good?" He asked before leaving more soft kisses on her lower stomach.

"Very." She answered with a smile, fingers brushing through his hair.

He hummed at the feeling of her touch, "Good to know, pretty."

Turning to see where she'd left it, Ella reached out to grab her discarded camera, melting into the duvet under George's gentle touch and his lips pressing on her skin leisurely. She went to lean on her forearms so that she could get a better look at him, and he looked up at her with a dizzying smirk that she managed to capture.

His lips tickled the skin of her lower stomach when he pointed out, "Didn't even have to tell you this time."

Putting the device back down on the bed, Ella shrugged, "You look good."

"Do I, now?" He teased, dropping his hands from her thighs and pressing them on the mattress so he could slowly push himself up and crawl his way up to hover over Ella again.

"You always do." Her words came laced with lust, his eyes darkening as he got closer and she just couldn't wait any longer to have him in more ways. "Come here." She instructed by wrapping a hand around his neck, fingers pressing on the sides of it until he groaned loudly in pleasure and when he let the sound leave his lips, she smirked and warned, "My turn."

Pulling him in by his neck meant that their tongues met instantly when they started the kiss, and when Ella tasted herself on his tongue, she moaned so loudly George groaned just as loud in response.

The kiss was all teeth clashing, spit dribbling down to their chins, noses bumping, deep exhales sounding loudly and trying to overpower the sounds of their swollen lips moving together.

It had been George the one to grow louder when Ella's hand dropped from his neck, down his naked torso to the button of his jeans, which she undid with quick fingers and pulled the zip down before she could palm him over the fabric of his boxers.

"F-fuck..." He let out when her nimble fingers squeezed him and stroked him up and down, he was so hard that her touch was making him shiver.

Ella could feel him so swollen under her hand, her mind already spinning about how big he was but she wanted to have him unravel under her so badly, she pushed any worries about his size to the back of her head.

His hips moved slowly, as if he was helping with her movements, clearly wanting to reach his high but she wanted to taste him and she wanted it now. So she left his cock alone to instruct him to, "Lay down, baby."

They switched positions, so George was laying on his back and Ella was kneeling between his legs. He panted as he watched Ella shamelessly gawk at him, her mouth going dry at the clear outline of his cock.

"Fucking hell, George." She cursed as she tugged on the top of his jeans so he could lift his hips up for her to take them off him.

He did as instructed and Ella just was too impatient to wait any more, she wanted to feel him heavy on her tongue already. His boxers came off quickly after his jeans, his hard cock springing up to touch right by his navel.

Ella gulped. He was thick, angry red tip already leaking from how aroused he was. Intimidating but so inviting. She dipped her head down to start kissing his hips, kisses that went from sweet to wet and messy the more he squirmed under her.

"Ella..." George pleaded, hand coming down to cradle her head. Not to push it towards where he wanted her but to have her look up at him and see just how fucking desperate he was for her.

Ella felt that look go down straight to her core, mewling at the feeling. "I know baby, I know." She said in a coo.

Her fingers wrapped around him, the pressure of them making George huff with his lips pressed together. He felt so heavy in her hand, veins popping for her to see how pained he was.

"You're so big." She trailed off, a bit of wander in her voice. She had no idea how he'd fit in her mouth, he was by far the biggest dick she had ever come across but she liked a challenge.

Her tongue licked a bold strip from base to tip, eyes rolling to the back of her head when she tasted the salty arousal that had already been leaking from him. He had cursed under his breath at the feeling, but the breathy words turned into a loud moan when she wrapped her lips around him and sank her mouth down onto him.

Barely able to fit half of him in her mouth until he hit the back of her throat, Ella pulled back to catch a breath, her hand taking over for a few seconds as she inhaled deeply and went back in. She gagged around him when she managed to get him deeper, George moaned loudly as she did so, trying his hardest not to buck his hips upwards.

His hand went back to hold her head but this time, his fingers tangled in her hair, only to pull her up so she could breathe. But she didn't want to have it easy, she wanted to see how much of him she could take and hear every one of his moans.

So she went against his hold, sinking her mouth further down and gagging around him again. Her hand stayed at the base of his cock, stroking the rest she couldn't get to, as she continued bobbing her head up and down on him.

George was a mess of groans and moans, gasping for air whenever she gagged and moaned around him, her throat tightening around him was driving him insane.

He lifted his head up slightly to look down at her, pulling her hair so she would come off him and meet his eyes. And George was met with a panting Ella, pink wet swollen lips, saliva dripping down her chin and neck, tears falling out of the corner of her eyes, hair disheveled but pupils dilated and a satisfied smirk at it all.

Her hand kept stroking him up and down, fingers applying the perfect amount of pressure and he moaned at the combination of her touch and his view of her, "Fuck, you're so perfect."

The praise only encouraged her more, for she leaned back down and licked a strip up his cock again, this time looking up at him through her lashes. An innocent look in her eyes as she lapped at the tip of his cock.

He exhaled in awe, "Look at you– Shit!" He cursed loudly when she sank slowly back down until again he reached her throat, his hips bucking upwards involuntarily and making her gag loudly.

She gasped out for air for a mere second before she did it again, until she managed to control her gagging a bit better and encouraged George to fuck her mouth with a simple squeeze to his hip.

"Oh fuck– Such a pretty filthy girl." He praised as he obeyed the silent instructions and rocked his hips forwards slowly and ever so slightly. "You like it when I fuck your throat?" His question was thrown out into the air in between groans.

She answered with a hum that vibrated around him and that was when he started feeling like he was losing control. His hips grew erratic and Ella noticed so she hummed and moaned around him even more, causing him to get closer to his high.

"Ellie m'gonna cum!" He warned her loudly, the wet squelching sounds of him going in and out of her mouth and their moans bounced off the walls.

And when her hand dropped from around the base of his cock to play with his balls, he was sent over the edge. He pushed his hips forwards and stilled as he came, dick twitching in her mouth and his cum coated the walls of her throat with a warmth she appreciated with another low moan.

His hips fell back on the bed but she didn't relent just yet, sucking him off for a little longer to take everything she could. But he pulled her off him by her hair when he couldn't take it anymore, cursing and calling out her name like he was scorning her.

"Fucking hell." He mumbled, still dizzy from his orgasm but completely entranced by the way she came off him with a whimper and a satisfied smirk.

She wiped the drool off her chin with the back of her hand and slowly crawled up until she was laying on her side right beside him, staring right into his eyes with hunger still flashing in hers.

"Feel good?" She asked just what he'd asked her but in a mocking manner.

It got her a chuckle in response before one of his big hands came to cup her jaw and crashed their lips together.

Kissing George had Ella dazed. His lips were soft but firm when moving along with hers, they were wet and swollen, warm exhales leaving his parted lips for her to swallow, tongue peeking through them to meet hers. He'd moaned so loud when he tasted himself on her tongue, fingers digging into her cheek and making her mewl in response.

Her skin grew hot the more they kissed. He didn't even let her get a proper breath whenever he pulled back for a brief second, because he was back on her mouth—lips smacking and tongues licking at each other.

Ella's hands had gone on a path from his face to his head, the back of his neck, his shoulders, and eventually to his back, fingers digging into it when he started nipping at her bottom lip, at the same time as his right hand dropped from her jaw down to pinch her nipples, eliciting gasps out of her.

"George..." She let out in a gasp when he had her nipple pinched and twisted between his thumb and index finger.

He was smirking right over her parted lips, amused at the way she shivered every time he went from one nipple to the other. Her nails clawed at his back when she felt the electric shocks that his touch gave her travel all the way down to her center, feeling herself growing wetter and that familiar knot in her lower stomach forming.

His lips slotted between hers again, distracting her from his missing touch from her tits and it going down to tease her cunt.

With his thumb, George started rubbing circles on her clit, making her pull back from the kiss with a loud gasp that turned into a cry of pleasure. She could feel herself throbbing already, and it got worse when he picked up his pace.

He wasn't going too fast but not slow either, the speed in which his thumb rubbed at her had her writhing her hips in response, subconsciously trying her best to get closer and closer to her high.

And Ella had felt herself start clenching around nothing when he slid a finger inside her. "George! Fuck!" His fingers were thick and long, curling inside her and making her see stars already, half lidded eyes catching him smirking at her and heavy breathing at her reaction.

"You like that?" He asked her teasingly, pecking her lips as her face scrunched up in pressure.

She hummed in response to him but he found that not good enough, so he added another finger, stretching her out easily and making her back arch as she moaned loudly. "Yes! Yes!" She encouraged, and when he curled his fingers again, knuckle deep inside her, she felt herself be completely overcome by pleasure and unable to grasp at her inhibitions, "Oh my– Fuck! Your fingers feel so good."

His fingers were slipping in and out of her easily, her hips erratically moving as he thrusted them inside her, "That's it, cum on them baby."

The praise had Ella completely fucked over, "George, I'm so– Fuckkkk!" She couldn't help but scream out when he pushed a third finger inside her, feeling completely stuffed with him.

It felt so good how much he was opening her up, and he was loving the way whenever he pulled his fingers back her walls pushing him off and having to slowly sink his fingers deep inside her again. "I know, I can feel you clenching hard around them." She was squeezing his fingers so tight, his throat went dry just thinking about her milking his cock, "Can't wait to fill you up and feel how tight you're around my cock baby."

She agreed, so drunk in pleasure she just wanted to feel even more of him, "I need you. George, I need–"

But he tutted, "You're cumming on my fingers first." She was about to cry out like a brat, about to beg for him to stuff her up but his words beat hers, "Come on baby, give it to me like the good girl you are."

His voice was low in her ear, so sultry and inviting she felt it deep in her core and she just couldn't say no. So she let go. Her toes curl as his fingers kept pumping in and out of her, hitting that spot perfectly for her to see stars as she came, white heat enveloping her and taking ahold of her body, "Fuck, fuck! Oh– George!"

"That's it, baby. So fucking stunning." He encouraged, watching his fingers continue to disappear inside her tightening cunt, her legs shaking and her hips moving clumsily to meet his hand.

She gushed all over him, slick drenching his hand and dripping down her cunt onto the duvet. He couldn't let it go to waste, so he pulled his fingers out and sucked them clean, moaning around them when he tasted her again. Soft and sweet. He wanted more.

Ella felt his fingers gathering her mess and she managed to peel her eyes open to watch him as he sucked it all off his fingers again.

Shamelessly, she just watched as he dipped down time and time again until he deemed his work of cleaning her up was done, the last one being offered out to her and Ella obeyed, wrapping her lips around his fingers and sinking her mouth on them to suck them clean. Her eyes stayed on his as she did so, moaning loudly around them while she batted her lashes at him.

The view made George's dick twitch. So he reached out behind her for the forgotten camera and when she was trying to catch her breath, eyes closed in bliss, he took a picture of her.

Her eyes snapped open at the sound of the shutter going off and she looked at him all startled like she needed an explanation. "You're so beautiful like this." He quickly justified, lifting the device back up to his eyes and adjusted the focus to take another one as he added, "All fucked out. Fucking gorgeous."

"Stop." She whined when the shutter went off again, hand coming up to grab at her lenses and force him to put it down, "I must look a mess."

His head shook, tongue swiping at his bottom lip with his eyes taking her in again, "You don't. You look hot." Skin glowing due to the thin layer of sweat their activities had caused, lips swollen and a hot pink color that matched the flush of her cheeks and chest, the gorgeous pattern of every bruise he'd sucked on her skin which were darkening more and more, hair disheveled and splayed over the pillows.

"I'm confiscating this." That was the brief ultimatum she gave him, grabbing the camera and turning the action on him instead.

She took just one picture of him and he allowed it, only to complain by saying, "You have enough of me." and taking the camera back.

She rolled her eyes, faking being annoyed and kissed him quickly before pushing herself up and off the bed, telling him, "Gonna go to the bathroom." making a beeline for her suitcase and getting herself a new pair of underwear first, adjusting the cups of her bra so they held her breasts again.

It wasn't longer than five minutes that she took, coming back to him wearing his boxers again and laying over the bedsheets—he'd discarded the duvet and left it a big crumpled knot on the floor by the foot of the bed—, a hand behind his head whilst the other was scrolling on his phone.

His position looked inviting, so she crawled on the bed and sat on his lap with a mischievous smile on her face. She reached out to get the camera he had placed on the bedside table at the same time as he dropped his phone there and his hands went up to hold her at her hips.

"Put your hands behind your head again." She instructed him softly, almost a mutter that sounded so shy, the corner of his lips tugged into a smirk.

She took a picture of him like that and another when he ran a hand through his hair but she stopped when his hands came back to grab at her skin, going from her waist until they softly came down to rest at her hips.

With a soft squeeze on her sides, he tilted his head to ask, "Am I allowed to smoke?" to which Ella nodded and got off him to open the balcony door and get him a cigarette and a lighter.

Getting back on top of him, she placed the cigarette between his lips but before she could give him the lighter, she grabbed the camera again just so she could capture the moment he lit it alive.

George looked so fucking hot lighting it up: cheeks hollowing ever so slightly, brows furrowing, long fingers that made the lighter look minuscule in his hand, lips pursed around the stick. She snapped away and captured the moment he blew out the smoke upwards, taking another drag and then blowing it in her direction.

The familiar scent of the tobacco and just how arousing she found it all, impulsed her to start moving her hips slowly on him. The sudden movement made his breath hitch in his throat, causing him to erupt in coughs when the smoke went up the wrong hole.

That's when she guided his hand to her mouth so he could place the cigarette in between her lips for her to take a drag. His mouth opened agape as she did so, the rolling of her hips only growing more intent and he started twitching and getting hard in his boxers.

He could feel her heat, the way she was wetting her underwear and starting to wet his own, the pulsing of her swollen clit. He could see how her nipples grew hard through the lace of her bra, and the way goosebumps rose in her skin as she went. Soft gasps that turned into hush whimpers that he wanted so badly to turn into those loud moans of hers that he was quite enjoying getting drunk on.

"Have you brought a condom?" She asked breathlessly, camera being once again forgotten somewhere on the bed for her to be able to rest her hands on his chest as leverage.

A flip switched inside George, the simple hint of him finally being able to sink himself deep in her making his blood rush down to his cock. "Yeah." He nodded eagerly and it was a relief when she quickly got off him so he could rush to get it, not without running out to the balcony so he could put out the cigarette on the ashtray outside and closing the balcony door behind him the second he stepped foot back into the room.

He had thought it was foolish of him to pocket a couple condoms before he left his flat earlier that day, fully scorning himself for being so ridiculous as to assume Ella would want to shag after their date but oh was he glad he had right then.

Condom in hand, George went back to the bed but not without shedding himself off his boxers first. Ella bit her bottom lip as she got her bra off to throw it on the floor behind her, seeing him wrap his hand around his length and pump it slowly as he watched her almost naked figure. Her hands went down to her hips so she could quickly tug down her underwear, eagerly taking it off and throwing it on the same spot on the floor she had dropped her bra.

Crawling up to the edge of the bed, she hummed as she watched him stroke himself up and down, her mouth watering for another taste of him. And when she got right in front of him, she dipped her head down until her mouth was right before his hardening cock and sticking her tongue out, she licked his head slowly.

He grew heavy on her tongue as she went, twitching in her mouth when she wrapped her lips around him again, his head thrown back at the feeling of her wet mouth enclosed around him and sucking him off patiently.

But he had to use an incredible amount of self restraint to pull her off him, a hand delicately coming around her neck to have her let go off his dick with a pop and pull her up to face him.

"I'm fucking you now."

George wasn't asking, he was simply informing her and that made her squirm under his gaze. Thighs pressing together and eyes drinking in the way lust made his behavior change. But Ella wanted a bit of control, even if it just was for him to ruin her.

"Can I ride you?" She asked innocently, puppy eyes that she prayed would get her a yes.

She took the way he pulled her in for a messy kiss as one.

In no time he was laying on his back with his head resting on the pillows, teeth ripping the condom wrapper open while Ella had her hand wrapped around him waiting for him to put the latex on. The anticipation grew and hung in the air like a heavy cloud as George rolled it down his length, sighing at the feeling of it around him.

She caught a glimpse of her camera through the corner of her eye and thought there wouldn't be a thing that was better than capturing his pure ecstasy in a picture so she grabbed it before she straddled him again.

Ella lifted the camera up to her eyes with one hand while the other got ahold of his cock to line him up, rubbing his head on her clit and making herself gasp at the feeling. She clenched around nothing as she did so, and she could feel herself drenched.

Even after he had stretched her out with his fingers, it was slightly challenging for her to take him when she started sinking into him. Her jaw dropped in a loud gasp when every inch of him started stretching her out, eyes watering at the feeling and trying to get her to shut them tightly but she did her best to not let her eyes close entirely so she could capture the way he groaned loudly with his head thrown back as she let her cunt swallow him.

Breath hitching in her throat, Ella sank down completely until she could feel him so deep it had a pathetic cry of pleasure slipping past her lips.

She drew her hips up and back down on him slowly, testing the waters on his size and what angle would be best for her to feel the best, and they both moaned loudly at the feeling. He was so big, he was filling her up in a way she'd never felt before so her walls were clenching hard around him which had his head spinning.

"Ella–" He breathed out, hands flying to her hips and clutching them tightly just to show how bad he was holding himself back from just thrusting up into her, or better yet just flipping them around and fucking her into the mattress.

"Fuck–, I know. I know." She said in a high pitch tone. One of her hands fell to rest flat on his chest and use as support, "I– oh, fuck..." She cursed as she rolled her hips forwards and then backwards this time, making her completely still at the insane sensory overdrive she was getting from it.

George knew she needed a second or two but she stayed frozen for longer than he could hold so he pleaded, "I need you to move baby, you're so tight."

"Just–" She tried to say, rolling her hips again and mewling loudly. George moaned back in response, his hands sliding down to her thighs as her head hung in pleasure.

Ella established a slow place, George's fingers digging into the flesh of her upper thighs grounded her into the moment and allowed her to take another picture. A picture that captured her legs on each sides of his toned chest, his fingers turning the skin under them white, his adam's apple bobbing as he gulped back a moan, the box tattoo on his thumb right next to the red ink of her 'Divine Feminine' tattoo on her thigh.

But after she pressed the shutter on that one, barely being able to clumsily roll the film, Ella just tossed the camera to the side mindlessly and used her new free hand to rest on his chest as well and the second hand of support helped her start moving her hips faster.

It was fucking delicious the way he kept hitting her g-spot from that angle, and when he started bucking his hips upwards, meeting her in the middle, she couldn't hold back the noises she let out. "George, fuck!" She cried out, clit feeling a bit of pressure every time she rolled down and he hit her pelvis.

His hands ran up from her thighs to mercilessly grab her ass, fingers harshly digging into her skin and stinging just in the best way. "Just like that baby. You feel so fucking good." He praised her with a groan, helping her sink down harder into him.

"You're so– Oh fuck–" She was cock drunk, her thoughts stupid and leaving her without even being able to finish a sentence.

"Tight little cunt, can barely fit inside you." George could feel himself meeting the hilt inside her every time, her cries growing in volume the faster the pace got. "You love it huh, being filled to the brim?"

"Yes, fuck! Yes, I love it, love your cock." She was dripping all over him, the noise of the wetness and their skin slapping every time they met bounced off the walls and, combined with their moans, made for a pornographic symphony.

"I know you can go faster. Can you do that for me baby?" He genuinely could feel himself not lasting any longer with how tight she was squeezing him.

"I can, I can." She promised almost desperately, wanting to be good for him. So she picked up her pace, her hands moving ever so slightly so she could straighten up a bit and when she did so she cursed out loud at the new angle, "Ah fuck!"

Her hips grew erratic, her knees helping now when she bounced up and down his cock ever so slightly, enough for her to incessantly gasp in a high pitch every time he hit that spot.

"Such a good girl for me." His hands stopped groping her ass to spank her, making her jolt forward with a loud gasp that turned into a mewl and a whine that tried to pass as a 'yes'. His dick twitched inside her at that reaction so he did it again and again, feeling her walls flutter around him with every hit, "You're squeezing me so tight baby, you gonna cum all over my cock?"

"Yeah, yes..." She gasped, and if she hadn't been so adamant on chasing her high, she would've noticed George quickly getting the camera and snapping a picture of her riding him. Hair a mess covering up her face but her mouth wide open in a moan, tits bouncing as she rode him, hands on his chest as support.

He'd just about managed to put the camera back down when he felt her squeezing him the tightest and that was when she came. "George! George! Ge–" She cried out, his name breaking down into a loud moan that tipped him over the edge along with her cunt milking him into the condom as she sloppily continued to ride him.

"Fuck! Ella!" He moaned loudly back, his hands going to her ass again to help her continue as he came, his dick twitching the more he spurt out into the condom, sweet relief making him see stars.

Unable to uphold herself any longer, she collapsed over him, chests heaving in sync as they came down from their highs. It was hard catching their breaths when their skin burned from the heat and stuck together from the sweat. And George knew she was rather uncomfortable from the way she groaned into him, her fingers lazily trying to brush the hair out of her face but huffing as it stuck to her sweaty forehead.

He brushed her hair back for her, fingers delicately grazing her face and earning a soft smile and a sigh from her. But then his hold went down to her hips so he could lift her up and off himself, to set her beside him, she whined at the loss of him.

Ella didn't even try to open her eyes, completely spent from their activities and snuggling into the pillows to find some comfort in the post orgasm haze.

George shed himself off the condom and tied it so he could throw it away, groaning as he pushed himself up and off the bed to make way to the bathroom.

He took about five minutes there and when he came back into the room, he smiled, finding a sleepy Ella struggling to keep her eyes open and smirking at him. He giggled as he walked up to bed and after taking her camera and placing it on one of the bedside tables, he carried her bridal style to take her to the bathroom.

Yes she was still on cloud nine but she had a bit of sense in her then so, after thanking him with a kiss, Ella told George she was alright from there and he could wait for her in bed.

She had realized what she'd said as she was washing her hands after peeing and she was cringing just thinking about him being gone once she went back into the room, but she found that he hadn't left and instead he had gone under the bedsheets and was waiting for her to cuddle up to him so they could get some rest.

Ella giggled when she got under the sheets and he hooked his arm around her waist to push her flush into him, her back pressed to his chest and he nuzzled into her neck from behind. Their legs tangled together and their breaths synced and slowed down as the minutes went by until they succumbed to their slumber.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

They got startled awake around ten in the morning when someone knocked on her door horrendously loud.

For a few seconds they stared at the door as if they were waiting for that person to knock it down and come into the room but then they announced who they were with a "Hello! Housekeeping!" and Ella sighed in relief.

Ella had to spring up from bed, calling out "Coming!" so that the staff member wouldn't come into the room, and after hastily grabbing her robe from the hanger and putting it on, she opened the door just enough to poke her head out and apologized.

"Sorry, can't come in yet." She said with an embarrassed flush on her cheeks.

But the lady outside her door waved her off and offered, "I can come back in around an hour or so."

The American nodded with a smile, "Sure, that'd be great. Thank you!" To that, the woman nodded and started walking up to the next door, so Ella closed the door and locked it again, her soul coming back to her body.

George laughed at her mortified expression which she scowled at him for but then she confidently shed herself off her robe and walked back to get in bed and she was met with a smirking George just taking in every inch of her body.

"Come here gorgeous." He invited her back into his arms and she didn't have to be told twice for her to go back being the little spoon for him. She'd had such good sleep being completely enveloped in him, heavy limbs acting like a weighted blanket and it was utter bliss.

But after seeing her naked again, skin littered with love bites he had left all over her, hair messy and tits perky and bouncing as she walked, George felt the need to show her a bit more of the appreciation he had shown her the day before.

His hand brushed her hair to the side so he could have access to the skin on the back of her neck. Goosebumps breaking on the skin there when he started pressing open mouthed kisses on it, fingers ghostly running down her back and stopping right on her lower back that had her back arching into him. Her ass grazed his dick every time, making it twitch and start to harden.

In search of friction, he pushed his hips forward and she reciprocated by pressing her ass against him. She couldn't help the passing thought of this being how it could've gone the morning after the wedding with Alex, if they wouldn't have freaked out and just let it happen. But all thoughts of the singer went out the window when George pressed himself against her again and had her mewling out loud at the feeling, "Hmm, George."

"Yes, baby?" His lips brushed against her skin, a shiver running down her spine and making her shudder, "You're so fucking beautiful, please let me make you feel good."

"Yeah..." Ella nodded quickly, it was a no-brainer. Her breath caught in her throat when she pushed his hips forwards again at the same time as she did and the tip of his cock grazed her entrance.

"Yes?" He moaned in her ear, hand coming around her front to play with her tits, "Can I make you cum again, sweetheart?"

She nodded eagerly, swallowing a moan as he pinched her nipple and when he cupped her whole tit with one hand, kneading it harshly, her "Please." came out in the form of a whine.

"Good girl. M'gonna make you feel so good baby, I promise." His hand continued playing with her tits as they kept grinding on each other, and when his cock was hard enough it had come up to rest heavily on his lower stomach, he let his fingers trail down until they hovered over her mound and he breathlessly asked, "D'you trust me?"

"Yeah, George..." She was basically pleading him to continue, hand coming to clutch his and guide his fingers down to her soaked cunt and when he felt just how wet she was, he groaned and pulled away.

"Wait." George instructed her, leaving her alone on the bed to get a condom. Ella heard the wrapper rip and him moaning as he put the condom on, stroking himself up and down a few times before he tugged the sheets off her and turned her from her side to her front so she was facedown and he could hover over her from behind.

His knees were on either side of her hips, forearms pressed on the mattress next to her shoulders and he kissed and sucked all over her back as he praised her for how gorgeous she was over and over. He kept bruising her up until Ella pushed her ass up and begged him to do something, the ache in her cunt too unbearable.

So George let go of the patch of skin he was bruising and did as she asked for, spreading her legs open as he knelt in between them and rubbed his tip up and down her slit.

"Don't tease, please." She cried into the mattress, her cunt fluttering around nothing and it was painful knowing just how good he felt inside her but he wasn't allowing her to feel it yet.

But then he just let himself slowly slip inside her and his jaw fell at her tightness in that angle, "Oh Ellie... Fuck–" He felt like he could barely fit in, but she was dripping with slick so it made it a bit easier for him to bottom out.

"George–" Ella choked out, head turning to the side to catch a glimpse of him. Her hands clawed at the sheets beside her head for dear life.

"I know. You're so tight." He cried out in pleasure, barely able to move an inch out of her because she was so snug it felt like she was pushing him out.

"Move baby, please." She begged again and he started going then, a slow pace at first that grew in speed rather quickly and had her cursing out loud, "Fuckkkkk!"

He gasped into her ear with every thrust, and it was soon that the sound of their skin slapping drowned the room along with their moans. "Gonna miss this tight little cunt so much." He said into her neck, sucking a bruise on the back of it before asking, "Gonna miss me too?"

"Ye– Yes! Oh!" She gasped when he hooked his left arm under her leg, pulling it upwards slowly and allowing her to stretch a bit more so she felt him deeper, "Gonna miss you so much!"

He chuckled smugly, "I know you will."

"Oh fuck!" She cursed as he hit her g-spot perfectly from that angle, his hips hitting her ass and reminding her of how sore the skin there was from the spanking he gave her the night before. "Yes, yes! Don't stop, please!"

"If you could only see yourself right now!" He cursed under his breath when he looked down to see himself disappear into her, over and over. If he kept looking at how he kept sliding in and out of her so easily, he would burst right then so he looked back up to her face and praised her once more, "Taking me so well baby."

"Harder, please." She asked for and stilling for just a second to get a better standing on his knees, George did as she asked, making her instantly get even louder when he hit that spot with more intensity, "Oh my– Fuck! Right there, yes!"

"Just like that, yeah?" His smirk grew on his face, feeling how it kept getting easier to slide inside her which meant she was fucking drenched and dripping all over him, her walls fluttering around him already making him see stars.

"Yes! Yes!" She chanted like a broken record, the coil in her lower stomach tightening by the second and threatening to snap at any moment, "I'm so close!"

His left arm lifted her leg even higher and then left it there to be able to bring his fingers down to rub at her clit and send her over the edge, "C'mon baby, cum for me sweetheart!" He encouraged her as he rubbed fast circles on her throbbing clit, which earned him choked out moans that turned into a throat ripping moan of, "F-fuckkkk! George!"

George felt her squeeze him so tightly as she came, making it so much harder for him to continue thrusting in and out of her which ended up with him stilling his hips as he came a few seconds after her with a loud, "Ah shit! Ella!"

His thrusts became sloppy and messy as she spasmed around him, whimpering as the aftershocks of her orgasm had her legs trembling under him and her white knuckle grip on the sheets faltered.

Letting his weight fall over Ella slightly, George sighed in complete bliss and he kissed the back of her head and her cheek multiple times to say, "Did so good for me sweetheart." He dropped a kiss on her lips for the first time that morning and praised her once more, "Pretty girl."

The way he spoke to her made Ella's stomach flutter, and he felt it when she clenched around him, "You like that huh?" He teasingly asked, to which she only mewled in response.

He pulled out, hearing her whine this time when she felt upsettingly empty again but her rubbed circles on her hips soothingly and asked, "Shall we go take a shower? Do you want me to help you up?"

Ella had barely managed to reply with a quiet, "Mhm..." when a loud ringing snapped them out of their bubble.

She didn't recognize the ringing so she figured it was George's. The drummer didn't do a thing to go and get it though, as he came to lay down beside her and shed himself off the condom they'd used.

He got up to discard it in the bathroom and just as he crossed the threshold of the room, he heard his phone start ringing again. He didn't listen to it, taking his time in the bathroom until he heard Ella call out for him.

A grunt left his lips when he came back to the room and picked up the phone and read his sister's name on the screen so he answered with a meek, "Y'alright?" to let her know he wasn't in the mood for constant ringing.

Ella heard pure silence surrounding them for a good half minute before George sighed a, "Fucks sake." The American opened her eyes to see him and moved onto her side to watch him as he spoke. "Right now? Really?" He asked, entirely unamused. "Yeah, really busy actually." He said sternly, looking at a naked Ella in front of him with wide eyes. That made Ella purse her lips not to laugh but what broke the giggles out of her was when he sighed loudly and muttered, "I hate you." to whoever it was. It was barely another half minute that he ended the call with an impatient, "Yeah, yeah. Sure. See ya'."

"What's wrong?" Ella asked curiously, her fingers playing with the ends of her hair.

George rolled his eyes at the situation, "My sister needs me for something. She says it's urgent but I doubt it." He shrugged then, ignoring the importance of whatever it was she needed him for, he had only been half listening really. "I can stay though, it wouldn't be the first time I ignore her."

That had Ella snorting in laughter, "Go, you idiot."

"But–" He tried to argue as he came to hover over her, head dipping to steal a kiss out of her which Ella broke after a few seconds by pushing his shoulders slightly so she could reassure him it was fine.

"It's okay. I had the best time with you, and that's all I wanted." Her hands came to the back of his head, fingers digging into the hair at the nape of his neck and scratched his scalp softly.

George clicked his tongue and he pouted to joke, "Knew you only wanted me for my body."

Ella cackled at his antics and told him to "Shut up." only to do it herself by pulling him into her so they could share one last kiss. It was sweet but it wasn't soft, their lips moving together with intent as if to prove they'd need to do it again because it was just too good.

But she had to stop it before it could turn into something more. She pulled on his hair so their lips separated with a smack and with the sweetest smile and looking at him with those gorgeous hazel green eyes of hers, she said, "Thank you George."

"I had the best time Ellie." He replied wholeheartedly then, agreeing with her previous point.

"Me too." She nodded softly to reiterate her point, hands coming back down to cup his jaw, thumbs rubbing circles on his skin.

One last short kiss was all they got in that bed before they both stood up and got dressed. Well, George did, in the same getup as the day before, while Ella put her robe back on and tied it around herself slowly as he finished getting his shoes on.

"I'll see you soon, yeah?" He said when they got to the door, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "When are you leaving again?"

"Friday."

He nodded, it was very soon but there was still time. "We have a week then." He winked right as he opened the door, stealing one last peck from her and leaving her with a stupid smile on her face that only got bigger when she closed the door behind her and she looked at the mess they had left the bed looking like.

And it got even bigger when she finally reached for her phone, which she had put on silent, for the first time since before the date and she found her most recent notification being a message from Florence which made her cackle.

When she opened that message conversation, she giggled loudly for she had messages from the day before and Flo hadn't taken the time that passed between the texts she sent lightly.

(13/07/2013 18:38) How did the date go? Hope he behaved for you x

(13/07/2013 18:52) No, I actually hope he didn't ;) xx

(13/07/2013 20:51) Okay, it's almost nine now... You better be ignoring me for the right reasons Miss Hayes x

(13/07/2013 23:46) I'm about to go to bed but I've driven Matty crazy tonight because I'm so intrigued about this. Answer woman! I'm going mad!!!!

(14/07/2013 08:22) Good fucking morning you lucky bitch! Still no response? You better tell me all about this later!!!! xx

(14/07/2013 09:35) Should I start getting worried?! If you don't answer in an hour, I'm texting him just to ask if he didn't fuck this whole thing massively x

That text had been sent almost an hour before, and Ella knew Flo was faithful to her promises so she typed an answer the quickest her fingers allowed her to.

(14/07/2013 10:18) Hello... Why does this text feel like a walk of shame? Hahah x I'm sorry for just now replying, I had my hands a bit full...

Ella laughed loudly when a minute later, when she had been choosing what to wear after taking a shower, Flo replied.

(14/07/2013 10:19) Eleanor Hayes!!!!!!!! Tell me every dirty little detail right now!!!!!

(14/07/2013 10:19) I'm gonna take a shower right now but I'll call you as soon as I'm out x

(14/07/2013 10:20) You're just now showering?! Did you go again this morning?!

(14/07/2013 10:21) Why do you want to spoil this story for yourself?

(14/07/2013 10:21) I'm actually so fucking jealous right now, it's an issue x

(14/07/2013 10:22) HAHAHA Give me five minutes and I'll call you as soon as I have dried my hair. Get your popcorn ready x

(14/07/2013 10:23) Will do you, lucky bitch! CAN'T WAIT!!!! xxxx

Ella took the quickest shower she could, just because she was actually dying to talk about it all with someone and who better than Flo.

So the second her hair had gone from wet to just damp under the hot blow of air of the hair dryer, she ran back to the room and ringed her up.

The call had been hilarious and had elongated to almost an hour because Flo asked for every little dirty detail and Ella had used the call as an opportunity to process what had happened so the artist had gotten things Ella wouldn't normally tell anyone.

But the end of it had been entirely mortifying because Ella had found out that Matty had been listening too when she was talking about what had taken place that morning. And just when Flo had been trying to tell her it was fine because Matty was George's best mate and he was her friend now too, Ella's phone started ringing with another incoming call from someone she'd tried not to think about yet.

"Erm, sorry Flo, Alex is ringing me." She apologized like she had too, her insides being coated by nervousness.

"Oh it's alright hun," Flo waved her off, and with a mischievous tone assured her, "We'll continue this later."

Ella's hands had started to sweat and she let a little nervous giggle before reminding Florence, "Next time warn me when your husband is there so I can keep a bit of dignity to myself."

Flo cackled at that but Matty was the one to reply with confidence, "No dignity lost here Ella, you're a fucking legend."

That answer made Ella snort in short laughter, "Thanks Matty, I doubt it." As soon as she let those words out, she felt Alex's call go to voicemail and here phone stopped vibrating in her hand, so she cursed, "Fuck, call went through. I'll go now." She sourly let them know, and Ella smiled softly when they assured her it was alright so with a sigh, she added, "Love you guys, bye!"

"Bye Ella!" She heard coming from the other side of the line and with that, she ended the call.

Her fingers hovered over her screen with doubt, debating whether or not to make the call back but Alex rang her up again, answering that for her.

"Hi Al, sorry, I was on the phone." She apologized first and foremost as soon as she picked up.

"S'alright." Alex reassured her, and he was about to ask how the previous day had gone because he had texted her a few times and he still hadn't gotten a response, when Ella interrupted him.

Her nerves made her sound breathless when the words came pouring out of her lips, "How are you? Did something happen?"

"No, I, erm..." He frowned a bit at her behavior but didn't really know if he should pry on anything yet, so he stuck to bringing up the topic of one of his texts, "Doesn't Ben and the crew arrive later today?"

"Oh, yes." One of her clammy hands came up to her forehead and she closed her eyes just to think of when that would be but her mind was a knot of thoughts. "I think I have Ben's itinerary here." She remembered in a lucky spark of logic so she took her laptop out of her suitcase and opened it quickly to find the ticket reservations somewhere on her desktop.

She hummed to herself as she looked for it and snapped her fingers when she found it, "Yes, they're landing around three."

"Are you going to get them?" Alex asked shyly, not really knowing what was the plan for the Focus Creeps crew when they got to London.

"No, they're actually staying here too so I'll meet them downstairs when they arrive."

Ella noticed how recoiled he was being when he softly inquired, "Do you think Ben would mind me intruding?"

"Absolutely not." She reassured him, though she had no idea why he'd want to come over to meet Ben when they had the shoot planned for the following day. But she got an idea as to how to make the day productive if he was to come over, "We could have a little meeting considering we're shooting two days in a row starting tomorrow. You know, run over the last few things and make sure everything's alright and meets your expectations."

The clicking of his tongue and his little scoff made her giggle, "Darling, it's you and Ben directing, I will definitely love it."

"You better boss." She said as she closed her laptop, putting it back in her suitcase.

"Shush." He said with a giggle managing its way out through his words. That wasn't why he had called her though, so he pushed with what he actually had been meaning to ask, "Have you got any plans for earlier today?"

In all honesty, Alex had spent the previous day wondering and wondering if everything was okay then. He hoped it was, and thinking back to the previous two days when they'd been in Sheffield and Manchester, it seemed like it. But he couldn't help but wonder, what if it isn't? So he had anxiously waited for the day to pass until it was late for him to text her and not interrupt her plans—eight in the evening had been decent enough for him—but he'd gotten no response and he'd tossed and turned all night overthinking.

He'd only managed to get some sleep around three in the morning and that was why he had woken up rather late and only been able to wait just another half hour after his eyes peeled open and he saw there was still no response, before calling her up.

His heart had sank with the worst feeling, his brain just telling him she was completely ignoring him but he was stubborn, so he decided to call again and thankfully she had picked up. He hadn't been more relieved to hear her voice before.

"Right now?" She asked, biting on her thumb and blushing when she looked up and was met with the mess her bed had been left as after George went away.

"Yeah."

She hesitated, not really remembering what it was that she was doing, a long "Ermmmmm," coming from her until her eyes fell on her camera which was propped up on her bedside table and it clicked, "Oh, just going to pick up my pictures I sent to develop. Might take the ones I took in Manchester and Sheffield to develop as well before I leave."

Alex tried his luck, carefully asking, "Mind if I intrude in those plans too?"

To his relief, she chuckled and replied with a relaxed, "'Course I don't." One that really contrasted the way her insides were churning at the fact of having to face him after what had happened merely an hour before. She turned her back to the bed, trying to will her memories of the day before and the morning out of the forefront of her mind.

Clearing her throat, she suggested, "Wanna get some breakfast first? Haven't eaten anything yet and I might faint if I go walking around London on an empty stomach."

"Absolutely." He smiled at the thought of going out for breakfast with her but in the back of his mind he wondered why she had yet to eat. Shrugging it off, he turned back to his room to get his sunglasses and a jacket so he could leave, "I'll be there in fifteen."

She hummed, slightly panicking about getting ready that quickly but not sounding it at all as she forced a smile that she knew he couldn't see, "Amazing. See you soon then, sweets."

"See ya' darling."

When Ella shed herself of the towel and saw her reflection in the mirror, she blushed instantly at the trace George had left on her. Love bites everywhere on her chest, neck, inner thighs and when she turned around she caught a few lingering around her back, along with the faint print of his hands on her ass. She started getting hot at the memory of it all, and she had to force herself to focus on the task of getting ready before Alex could arrive.

She'd ended up choosing a black turtleneck with long sleeves and some black jeans just to make sure nothing would peek through and cause any type of conversation that would end wrongly.

Not that she owed Alex anything, but she would rather avoid any arguments like the one at the pub if it had been sparked by him finding out she was messing about instead of spending time with them.

When Alex had arrived and knocked on the door of her hotel room, she'd been making sure if she'd gotten all the rolls she'd used with her. She was debating whether or not to take the roll she had in her camera as well as she tucked it back inside its case and placed a new roll inside her Minolta, when Alex knocked again and she just panicked, shoving her latest used roll inside her bag along with the rest.

"Coming!" She yelled as she grabbed her phone, wallet, cigarettes and lighter, the room keys and her leather jacket.

He had barely heard her but before he could knock again, the same housekeeping lady who had knocked the door earlier walked right by him and warned him, "She was busy."

Alex frowned quite confused, she had a brow raised at him and almost like a smirk on her face, but he didn't have much time to ask what the lady meant when Ella came out of her room, opening the door just enough for her to walk out and she froze when she saw the housekeeping lady right behind him.

"Hi sweets." Ella greeted him tensely, her eyes going warily from the lady to Alex as if she was a prey about to be pounced on.

Alex was still confused, his smile crooked as he greeted her back with a soft, "Hi darling." and not even sure if he should hug her when they had prying eyes over them.

But before they even tried to, the lady cleared her throat and asked, "May I come in now?"

"Oh yes, I– erm," Ella stuttered under Alex's intent gaze. He noticed the way her cheeks warmed and turned pink as she lowered her voice to apologize, "Sorry about the duvet, it's on the floor."

Ella didn't miss the way the lady looked from her to Alex and chuckled like she knew a secret, and nodded, "That's alright."

"Thanks!" Ella let out breathlessly, before grabbing Alex by the hand and pulled him to where the lifts were.

Before she went into Ella's hotel room though, the lady turned to look at the hold Ella had on Alex and shook her head. She'd seen George walking out of Ella's room earlier, and if the duvet was on the floor then she could imagine what had went on, but hearing Alex call her darling made the lady start making assumptions that made Ella look bad. She just laughed about it, turning the key in the lock so she could walk into the room and do her job.

Ella couldn't stay still while waiting for the lift and Alex was just dead silent, entirely confused about what had just happened. In his head, he was just hoping he was being too creative and driven entirely by jealousy when going on about his theories, silently praying it was anything but what he was thinking.

Entirely distracted by her own nerves and the lift doors opening in front of them, Ella didn't see the way Alex eyes her up and down for signs of anything that could prove what he was thinking of but he found nothing that could confirm his suspicions.

It wasn't like it was much he could see anyway, he frowned at how her clothes covered her almost entirely. Not even her neck on show with the turtleneck she had on.

He sighed when the doors opened again when they got down at the lobby and decided to just ignore it all so he could enjoy being in her presence like he had wished for all day yesterday. So he just intertwined their fingers as they walked through the lobby, giving the receptionist a quick smile and wave goodbye before leaving the hotel.

They missed the way the receptionist frowned, having seen that the guy Ella had brought in the day before had just walked out an hour before in the same clothes. The receptionist had laughed to herself and shook her head at what she imagined Ella had done, "Americans."

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

Barely a few minutes had passed as they walked the busy London streets when Alex just couldn't bite his tongue any longer. The complete silence from her part the day before, her hesitation to answer when he asked about it, and what she'd said to the housekeeper. All of it was making his curiosity grow inside him until it became uncomfortable to keep it in any longer.

"How was yesterday? You had fun?" He started off easy, thinking that would be the best way to get anything out of her.

But all Alex got was a hurried and stuttery, "Oh, I'm– Yes, I did."

"What did you do?" The singer tried again, looking at her to try and see if she gave anything away with the look on her face.

But all he saw was her avoidant stare and her blushing cheeks, "Just, you know– Had lunch." She paused for a little bit until she eventually added the rest, "With a friend." almost with regret to have said it after a second of it slipping past her lips.

"Oh right." He nodded with a soft smile, confused as to why it was being so hard for her to say that. In another attempt to understand, or scratch that itch in his brain more like, he asked, "Where'd you go?"

She hummed as she thought about it, giving herself a bit more time to act put together, "This restaurant in Covent Garden. Think it was called Cora Pearl."

A surprised "Oh." came from him in response and just to give a chance to prove his theories wrong, he suggested, "Romantic, wasn't it?"

Ella stiffened and Alex noticed because he was still holding her hand. He frowned at her reaction and she giggled nervously, "What?"

"That place. It's a bit romantic innit?" From what he remembered, the last time he went to that restaurant, it had been a very cozy and romantic setting so it made him suspicious.

"No, not really. It was alright," She toned it down with a click of her tongue, only to shrug lazily as she added, "Food was good."

"Right, right." Alex let her have it that time, and switched topics to tell her, "I texted you yesterday."

Her hands had started getting sweaty and she hoped he wasn't noticing—he had—but she played it cool. "Did you?" She asked back, she'd barely glanced at her notifications that morning, the first one being from Flo and therefore the only one to grasp her eye so she'd fully put off checking the rest as she catched the artist up on what had happened.

"Yeah, but s'alright. Just wanted to know when Ben was coming." His fingers squeezed her hand softly as if to calm her clear nerves out and she sighed slightly before dropping his hand and reaching for her cigarettes and her lighter because she needed a smoke desperately.

"We have a bit of time until then, don't we?" Ella mumbled as she placed the cigarette between her lips and lit it up, taking a long drag and offering it to him. Alex took it from her and nodded, she watched as he took a drag and said, "Let's just go somewhere to eat, I'm starving."

Their shared cigarette had been stomped over on the asphalt when they stumbled into a cute little cafe five minutes later. It was small and cozy, the smell of coffee inviting and the look of the different flavored croissants and pastries made their mouths water.

Before Alex could continue asking about the previous day, like she knew he was dying to, Ella started asking him about the album release and tour. She'd kept him distracted by asking about the album rollout and which songs they had decided as singles along with 'R U Mine?', 'Do I Wanna Know?' and 'Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?'.

When he'd shown her the schedule they had so far for the tour, up until the end of the year, her heart sank at the sight of how after she left, she'd only have a couple chances to see him and it'd only be because they'd be having a gig in LA.

They'd left the cafe almost an hour later and made their way to the photolab. It was almost a half an hour walk but it had been spent smoking, talking and taking pictures.

Once they got to the photolab, Ella was greeted with two envelopes thick with pictures she'd printed out, a USB with all of her scans and the sleeves with her negatives inside.

"Oh thank you so much!" Ella said with a big grin on her face, she couldn't wait to see them all. "I have a few more I want to develop, if that's alright."

"Of course." The man behind the counter said, "Do you want them scanned as well? So I can keep the USB and put the new ones in there."

Ella nodded, "That'd be perfect, yeah." She let her bag slide down her shoulder to hang on the crook of her elbow and rummaged around to see the used rolls she'd brought. "Erm..." She let out as she tried remembering which one was the George one, not knowing if she really wanted to leave it or just develop it when they got back home.

"How many are there?" The man asked intrigued by the way she was frowning.

"Only four I think." She really was trying to remember which one was from the day before but she couldn't for the life of her remember, so she just sighed and took them out of her bag and left it on the counter, "Just these."

"We could have these ready for you Wednesday afternoon, maybe?"

Ella waved him off as if not to worry him about rushing, "I'll be here Thursday morning, no need to rush."

The man flashed her a smile, "Thanks doll." He went on to click a few things on his computer to get her order ready, printing a spreadsheet with what she wanted for her order and turned back to her, "Are you paying in advance again?"

"Yeah, much easier that way." She instinctively dove into her jacket pockets for her small card holder but she only fished out the note Flo had sent her with George the day before. Ella blushed, leaving it on the counter mindlessly under the gaze of the man in charge of the photolab, and went to look through her bag again.

Whilst she went around looking for her credit card, Alex's attention was completely caught by the folded piece of paper. His eyes magnetized to the Ellie x written on top of it, he had to fight the urge to grab it and read it.

Alex's trance was broken when she snatched the note off the counter, shoving it inside her bag quickly and then turning to the man to offer her credit card up to him.

The transaction was fast, and with a promise to send her an email once they had her pictures ready, Alex and Ella left the place. Her bag was heavy with the weight of the photos she'd printed but it lit up this feeling inside her that she loved. There was nothing like picking up your prints and scans and just admiring every frame up close.

Ella knew what she had in there though, Alice's pictures were definitely in there somewhere and she wouldn't take her chances pulling the pictures out in front of Alex. But the singer wanted to see the pictures, taking her to a park that was a bit over five minutes away from the photolab and sitting down with her to encourage her to show the prints.

She took one of the envelopes out, opening it slowly and peeking through to see if anything she didn't want Alex seeing was there but she was thankfully greeted with the first batch of film she'd take when she'd arrived.

"Awh, these are from Glastonbury!" She exclaimed and pouted, taking a handful out of the envelope for them to see.

The first one was of Bre and Matt dancing around in the backstage area, right next to the drinks tent that was up for the artists to grab. There was one of Flo and Matty with Adam, George and Ross around them, all of them cheering after the 1975's set had finished. One of all the girls together, drinks in hand and big smiles on their faces during the Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds set. A few of everyone lounging around the tour bus, sunglasses on to not show their tired hungover eyes.

"Look at Jamie's face." Ella pointed out before a loud cackle managed its way out of her lips. It was a picture of Miles in his Union Jack tracksuit, jumping in the air and Jamie just so happened to be behind him with a terrified look on his face.

Alex's giggles joined hers when he caught a glimpse of the picture, "What was Miles doing?"

She barely managed through a new wave of giggles, "Dunno but this one's hilarious."

They continued flipping through the handful of pictures, tucking them back inside the envelope once they had seen them all and taking another handful out to see.

It was when they were flipping through the pictures Ella had gotten at the London Eye that her phone pinged with a new message and had interrupted their appreciation for Ella's photography.

With quick fingers, she unlocked her phone and read what Ben had just sent her, telling Alex what it was with a simple, "They've landed."

"Ben?" Alex asked pointlessly, there was no one else coming other than the Focus Creeps crew.

She nodded, putting her phone back inside the pocket of her jacket and then placing the pictures they had been looking at back in the envelope, "He just texted me that they're at baggage claim. They're probably getting to the hotel in an hour, shall we head back?"

"Sure." Alex nodded, watching as she placed the envelope inside her bag.

He stood up from the bench and offered her a hand. She took it with a smile and, hand in hand, they walked back to the hotel.

It probably took them around thirty minutes to get back and since they calculated they still had enough time until the crew arrived, Ella thought it would be good to book a conference room for a small meeting.

She walked up to the reception desk and sweetly asked, "Hi, sorry could I get a conference room?" She'd seen they had them back when she had booked her room but, if she wasn't mistaken, there were only three in total.

The girl behind the desk smiled back, "Of course, can I have your name please?"

"Eleanor Hayes."

"For when would you like to book it?"

She fiddled with her fingers, looking up at the big clock perched in the lobby's wall. It was almost half past three and she reckoned her co-workers wouldn't arrive until four so she ended up settling for five. "Is there any available around five?"

"Yes, I have one available then." The girl clicked away on the desktop and wrote something down in a spreadsheet to her left.

Ella gave her a grateful grin, "Oh amazing."

The typing away filled in the few seconds of silence and then the receptionist looked back up at her to say, "Alright Miss Hayes, you can just come around by then and I'll walk you over to the room."

"Thank you so much, see you then." Ella left her with a double tap of the desk.

She heard a faint "You're welcome." behind her as she turned back to the lobby's lounge area, where Alex was occupying half of a two seater settee.

Once she settled beside him, Ella let her bag fall in between the both of them and looking down at the envelopes peeking through the top of it, she asked him, "D'you wanna keep looking at the pictures?"

Alex nodded, wanting to see how the pictures he had taken of Ella had turned out, so she pulled out the envelopes and was about to open one of them to inspect it when ruckus coming from the hotel doors made them look up and they were surprised by the crew carrying multiple suitcases into the place.

"Oh my god! Hi!" Ella sprung up from her seat, shoving the envelopes quickly inside the bag and leaving it forgotten there as she walked over to help the crew.

She'd gotten two of the cases that looked to be carrying their filming gear whilst Alex came around to help Tyler, their camera man, with a bag he was struggling with along with a suitcase he clumsily was managing to roll around.

When they properly came inside the hotel and into the lobby, the crew left the cases alone to greet their missing co-worker. "Ella! We missed you!" Ben said before hugging her tightly and swaying her side to side.

Ella cooed and chuckled, because she felt the same. Ben had gone from being her boss to her mentor and he had been so incredibly supportive when she had gotten promoted to a director, their relationship had turned into one that felt like they were siblings.

They had started working as a duo since Ella had officially been promoted and that was why they shared a PA now, but that meant their creative brains were in sync and they spent more time together, therefore their trust in each other grew so much they had become almost inseparable and it hit Ella how much she missed having him around when he walked through the door. "Awh missed you too Ben! How was the flight?"

Ben let go and huffed in exhaustion, "Too long."

"I know." She said sympathetically, looking around the rest of the crew with a pout before going over to each one of them to greet them.

"Alex, hi man!" Ben said to the singer enthusiastically.

"Ben, nice seeing you again." Alex said with a genuine smile and pulled him in for a brief strong embrace, waving at everyone behind him briefly.

"How are you? Glastonbury was brilliant!" The director hadn't missed the chance to compliment him because he had thoroughly enjoyed their set a lot, it had been stunning.

Alex waved him off like it wasn't needed but he still appreciated the comment, "Thanks mate. I'm alright, how are you?"

"Tired but we're here." Ben sighed, the heaviness of the long flight now weighing down on him. But when Ben looked up at Alex, he found the singer to have his eyes stuck on Ella who was hugging her PA last with a soft smile. Just to tease, Ben cleared his throat and said, "Hope Ella's been behaving."

Ella had heard that as she turned back to him and Alex, rolling her eyes to call him out, "Oh shut up Benjamin."

But Alex didn't find it hard to admit, "She has been, she's a gooden."

"She is." Ben agreed, a slight smirk on his face which earned him another roll of Ella's eyes. He chuckled before turning his attention back on his crew and suggested, "Right, let's check in everyone, yeah?"

"You sound like a teacher on a school trip Ben." Ella pointed out with a raised eyebrow, almost like she was scolding him for it.

Tyler made it worse for the director when he added fuel to the fire by pointing out, "He was worse at the airport."

To which Ella winced and shook her head, "Oh god." She sighed as if the information pained her but let them move onto the reception desk and check into their rooms. They all got their respective room keys and once everyone had them in hand, Ella stood in front of them all and informed them, "I got us a conference room at five so we can go over everything and have it all ready for tomorrow, just so we don't have to cut your well needed rest short and run around in case something goes wrong."

Ben smiled at her with narrowed eyes, "Always thinking ahead. That sounds great."

Ella looked smug at Ben's reaction, flipping her hair exaggeratedly to make a point of how she always was right. Ben shoved her playfully out of her smugness and it made her giggle. But she turned serious again when Lydia yawned loudly behind her hand, "I'll let y'all settle then? I'll text the chat when I'm back down here so we can go."

The crew nodded, completely satisfied with the idea of at least a short rest before the meeting took place and Ben was the one to eventually accept, "Sure, yeah." His gaze fell on Alex though, and he asked, "You leaving Alex?" just to know if he had to say bye before going up to their rooms.

But Alex shook his head no, brows slightly furrowed, "No, no. I'm gonna intrude on your meeting. Ella said it was alright."

The choice of words made Ben chuckle but he nodded in agreement, "More than alright, that way we can double check everything."

"Brilliant." Alex said, slightly relieved at yet another confirmation that it was alright that he stayed for the meeting.

Ben was a bit nosy, and eventually let his curiosity win when after a few beats of silence, he inquired, "Are you leaving and then coming back?"

Before the singer could answer, Ella let out that, "No, he's coming upstairs with me." and that answer was enough for her co-workers to grow curious.

"Right." Ben replied with a smirk growing on his face, and he repeated another "Right." as if the first one hadn't been given in the best tone. It wasn't needed, because it was written on his face how he was enjoying hearing that for it gave him something to taunt Ella about.

So the director nodded slowly and offered them a gallic shrug, "See you at five then." to then grab their stuff and start to walk up to the elevators.

"See ya'!" Alex said a bit loudly as they walked away, a giddiness bubbling up inside him when knowing this meant he could go upstairs with Ella sooner then.

Ella added to the short farewell with an enthusiastic, "Bye guys!"

Alex watched as the crew disappeared into the lifts and Ella went back to the lounge area. He turned to see her grabbing her bag and once she had it perched on her shoulder, she walked back to him.

With a "Let's go." and a pat on his back, she encouraged him to follow her upstairs. She'd slowly opened her door, peeking through the barely cracked open door to see if the room was no longer a mess of tangled sheets and thrown duvets and she was glad to see it all in place like that morning hadn't happened. Seeing the bed, even if it was tidy, made her cheeks heat up though.

She pursed her lips watching as Alex toed off his shoes by the door and went straight to lay down on the bed. Her mind played tricks on her that weren't doing more than quicken her heart beats and tinting the tips of her ears as red as her cheeks.

"You can turn on the TV if you want." She invited, giving him the remote after she'd gotten a cigarette out of the pocket of her now forgotten jacket she'd perched on the back of the settee in her room.

Opening the door to the balcony, she pointed out, "M'gonna go for a smoke." and once he nodded with a smile, she escaped to the small area.

Five minutes of mindlessly going through channels with shit programmes on was enough for Alex to get up from the bed and walk outside with her. He got a cigarette out from his pocket and lit it up, silently smoking beside her.

The newfound silence between them was giving them time to think. They'd had silence before, comfortable ones where they settled and somehow it felt like they could silently communicate through looks and lingering touches. But this one was strange, it was a silence that just emphasized the distance between them and how their eyes didn't meet to talk wordlessly anymore.

Alex looked at her as he took his first drag and she turned to him to give him a fleeting smile, turning back to watch the people walking the English streets and the cars driving past. Ella felt his gaze burning on the side of her head but she forced herself to pay it no mind, what could she do? She hated having to walk on eggshells around him but after realizing they had never been acting properly like just friends, she was trying to navigate what that meant for them from then on.

It was weird feeling how she just couldn't talk and talk to him like she usually did, scared she could say something that could give him the wrong impression or that could set him off like before. Yes, he had apologized and promised it wouldn't happen again but she didn't want something going wrong because of something she could've prevented.

"Are you alright?" Alex ended up asking her, noticing just how tense she was.

Ella was taken aback by the question, "Yeah, why?"

Alex shrugged, the corners of his lips tugged down in a soft pout that he ended up switching for pressed lips as he mustered the courage to say, "You're quiet."

"Oh, sorry." The smoke left her lips as she spoke, turning to look at him while leaning into the wall on her back, "Just thinking about the video and how I'm leaving on Friday."

"Don't remind me." He pouted before taking another drag of his cigarette. Having merely five days left with her was an actual cruel joke. "Is Breana leaving on the same flight?"

Ella nodded, "Yeah, eleven in the morning so we're gonna have to be early at Heathrow." At least she would have Bre with her on the way back to assure her of not going crazy on such a long flight. "Matt's taking us, by the way, so you don't have to drive us."

"But I'm coming with." Alex chatted back, eyebrows raised at her and offended at the fact she was even giving him an out.

"It's gonna be really early." She warned, not really wanting to bother him about waking up so early just to go to the airport.

But Alex would never not go, "Don't care." He stubbed out the remaining of his cigarette out on the ashtray that was placed over the coffee table and walked over to her.

Wrapping his fingers around her wrist, he pulled her off the wall for her to walk into his arms, which she did without a peep of complaint, melting in his hold like she was used to.

Alex's fingers clutched her tightly, keeping her close to his chest and Ella let her head rest in the crook of his neck, drowning in his scent and closing her eyes to relish in the feeling.

"Don't want you to leave." He admitted with nerves bubbling up inside of him. He just wanted to let his words run loose and slip past his lips easily but god was he scared of her not reciprocating.

Ella hummed, the noise making her chest vibrate against his, "Don't want to either." She admitted right back and those words were enough to spark something inside him.

Would it be selfish of him to just ask her to leave it all behind for him? Would that be what his confession end up meaning to her?

The fear of rejection turned into a fear of asking too much from her, enough to drive her away, and just because of how much he was overthinking that sudden train of thought, he bit his tongue and stayed silent.

Silence which ended up in Ella sighing at the lack of response and choosing to add, "But I have to." in the end.

Those words came like heavy bricks over his heart, a confirmation of his worries being valid and right. He couldn't do that to her. He couldn't just ask her to go with him because of his feelings, not when she had so much waiting back home for her.

How badly he wanted to be selfish, to have this go his way, but it would be cruel to even lay that down in front of her and put her in the difficult position of having to even make that decision—if it even was a possibility for that to be a debate within her because he was still struggling to wrap his head around the chances of her feeling the same way about him.

Why is everything so complicated? He hated how he just couldn't let the words slip without thinking of the consequences, but there was just too much to lose and he had to weigh down if it was even worth it to risk it.

Flo's words came back to him. The moment he had finally let out how he felt for Ella for the first time came back to him and how good it had felt to get that off his chest. He clutched her a bit tighter when that flashed in the forefront of his mind and he smiled to himself when he felt Ella wrap her arms around his waist.

He thought then, it wasn't that he felt like it was a weakness to let it out, no, it was just how who he was wouldn't allow him to give Ella what she deserved. Because in the best of outcomes, she reciprocated, but what could he give her if she was in California and he was traveling all over the globe with no rest until the end of the year. And he was sure the next year would be the same, a plane from one country to another, day in a tour bus touring all across continents and no stability to give her the time she deserved.

Alex wanted to pull his hair out. He had done distance before and it had only been so long until he moved all the way to New York for his then girlfriend. Would Ella drop everything to join him? Would Ella let go of her dream job to follow him around the world? Would Alex be able to ask that from her?

Ella felt him drop a kiss on top of her head and his lips stayed there for a minute, his breathing slowed and got heavy and eventually she had to look up at him because it felt like something in the air had shifted.

"Are you okay?" She was the one to ask this time, and he saw the soft furrow of her brows and her lips slightly pursed when she pulled back to see his face.

He nodded, but he looked full of sorrow so Ella had to make sure, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, why?"

She took a step back, going to stub out the burnt out cigarette she had been holding and when that was done she stood back in front of him. "You're quiet." She repeated his words to him with a hint of a smile, like she was trying to cheer him up.

He caught onto it, offering a tight lip smile as he shook his head. The knot in his throat started tightening and it was like she had noticed without him even giving a sign of getting upset, so she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tightly.

"I'm gonna miss you so much, sweets." She promised him with a whisper in his ear, goosebumps breaking on his skin as his arms wrapped around her waist. "But we have this week left so let's not get ahead of ourselves okay?"

"You're right." Alex nodded again, Ella squeezed him a bit tighter and after a few seconds she broke the embrace, pulling back and smirking at him.

"I told you I always am."

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

It had been almost five when Alex woke her up. She had fallen asleep with her head resting on his shoulder as they watched some British show on BBC, not long after they'd come back inside from the balcony. Ella apologized profusely when she'd gotten back into her senses, apologies which he didn't accept.

They had made their way down to the lobby after Ella got her laptop and a little journal, texting the crew's group chat with one hand to let them know she'd be waiting for them there.

Fortunately, the small group had made an appearance at the lobby not long after she'd sent the text and they had gone into the conference room they'd been assigned at merely a quarter past five.

Ella settled with Alex to her right and Ben to her left, across the table sat Lydia, the new PA, Tyler, the cameraman, Margaret, the sound recorder, and Cameron, the lighting specialist. It was a small crew but it would do, plus they were the ones to come all the way to London because they were the best they had, the heads of each of their departments back home.

Whilst she opened her laptop to pull up the list of things she needed done for this shoot, Ella felt a gaze burning on her and when she let her eyes up to see who it was, she found Lydia staring at her and then at Alex.

She didn't give it attention until she looked up again and she found Lydia still gawking at Alex shamelessly. Ella thought it might've been because she hadn't been properly introduced to the singer so she took the matter in her own hands.

Interrupting her clicking and typing on her laptop to do so, Ella startled Lydia out of her trance when she turned to Alex and said, "Alex, this is Lydia, our new PA."

Alex looked up at the new face and smiled softly, "Nice to meet you."

Lydia's face seemed to light up at the attention and Ella had to hold herself back from scowling. The new PA waved shyly at him and said, "Such a pleasure to meet you Alex. Big fan."

"Thank you." Alex said kindly, before dropping his gaze back to Ella's laptop screen.

"I'm sure you remember everyone else." Ella said before continuing, knowing everyone had met Alex already at the same time as Ella had so there was no need for new introductions.

And Alex confirmed that when he nodded, "I do. Great seeing you again."

Everyone reciprocated the kindness and once that was over, Ella smiled at everyone and asked, "Right, so let's dive right in then?" to which she got nods that gave her the green light to start going over every bullet point.

Firstly, she had noticed the gap in her checklist where it said Stylist/Hair and makeup and just to make sure that was covered before moving onto what was confirmed already, she turned to Alex to ask, "Is your stylist coming tomorrow?"

Alex hummed, "Yeah she is." They had let her know she was needed for the shoot since it had been arranged, but it probably slipped past someone's mind to confirm that.

"Is she also taking care of hair and makeup?" Ella asked for the full confirmation.

And to her relief, Alex replied positively, "She is."

"Oh perfect." It was relieving checking that off and having the list look complete, "Okay so we have Lamie Stewart, she did the casting with an agency here and we had the video sent over, she's brilliant you'll love her." The model had been so brilliant and professional, an absolute laugh when she'd gotten to do the video call with Ella and Ben and it had been very refreshing to have such an easy going person as their main talent.

Alex smiled and nodded softly, completely trusting Ella's judgment about the main girl for the video. And with that approval, Ella moved onto the main point, "Let's go over the video concept again." She drummed her fingers on the table before they opened up the journal she'd brought with her and flipped through the pages until it was opened on the video.

Her eyes went over the words written in the preface for the project swiftly and she cleared her throat to start reciting it back, "We're gonna have you drunk out of your mind walking out of the pub, texting 'Stephanie' for a booty call. And you're gonna be hallucinating she's getting, erm, fucked as you walk up to her house. But you end up in the wrong house just across her street."

Alex chuckled when she'd weirdly said the word fucked, amused by her shyness coming back in front of her co-workers. With a smirk, he nodded, "Yep. Just like we talked about back in May."

"Nothing you wanna add or take out of it?" She layed out the chance for him to do anything to it, just in case it would be needed to arrange something else before it was too late.

But he shook his head, nothing really coming to mind, "No, I trust your vision on it."

"Good." Ella smirked at him, entirely satisfied with his words, "Lydia could you please phone the pub for me to make sure they know we have the place booked out for tomorrow to shoot?"

"Yeah, sure." Lydia nodded gracefully as she pulled out her phone and looked through her own journal for the number of the place. But before she could actually dial the number, Ella asked for another task to be done, "And please give the agency a call as well so they can notify Lamie and the extras when and where the shoot will take place."

A nod of Lydia's head was enough for Ella to deem that done, so she turned to Alex, "The lads know when I want them there tomorrow right?"

Alex's honest, "I wouldn't trust them." made Ella sigh and nod in defeat.

"You're right." She replied, thinking maybe Jamie would be the only one to remember that, "I'll send them a text right now, then."

But Alex let his hand come over hers to ease her worry about it and took the task off her by offering, "I'll do it for you, don't worry."

A tight lip smile was what he got in exchange and a soft, "Thank you." since Lydia's phone had started ringing as she called the pub. "Tell them to be there at 5pm sharp." Ella whispered to Alex while she watched him start to type away on his phone.

"Ben, anything you wanna add?" She turned to the director, a bit shy after realizing she hadn't let him do a thing.

It wasn't like it bothered him though, because he smiled big at her and shook his head briefly, "No, you covered it all Ella. Good work."

She gave him a toothy smile and a quick "Thanks." before she fell silent when Lydia had started speaking on the phone, everyone looked at the new PA expectantly as they heard only one side of the call.

They watched as the call lasted a few minutes and she thanked them before ending the call, but before Lydia could debrief anything, she got a call from the agency.

About five minutes later, when the agency had let her go, she finally let them all know that, "Pub says we can head there around five and we have four hours to shoot and the agency is sending emails out and contacting everyone to confirm they're coming tomorrow and Tuesday if needed."

Ella frowned and hummed, thinking about how much four hours would give them, "Four hours, alright. We need to wrap everything at the pub first thing, the rest of the band will only be needed tomorrow then."

Whilst Ella continued thinking about which scenes to record first, Ben pointed out another checked item off the list that most definitely needed a double or triple check before the recording, "Make sure to double check the bikes, please."

"We're having bikes in there?" Alex's curiosity sparked, knowing Ella had come up with it back when they recorded the Suck It And See videos and having loved those clips.

"A little scene, yeah." Ella nodded, biting her bottom lip to hide the excited smile at the thought of her vision for it, so she timidly asked, "Is that alright?"

Any worry about it not being what Alex wanted was out the window when he gave her a big grin and a wink as he decided it was "Perfect."

A wink that only made her chuckle and quickly turn to look at Ben to inquire, "Okay so do we have all the gear we need?"

Ben's slow nods were accompanied by, "All we need and a bit more just in case." which completely settled her, knowing that the director had all that covered before they'd gotten there was another big breath of relief.

"Amazing." Ella muttered, glancing over the checklist again and finding it all talked about, "Well, perfect then, team. We shall have a good shoot tomorrow and the day after will be even better."

"Damn right." Ben agreed proudly, eliciting smiles from the rest of the crew. Ella let her laptop close and closed her journal, putting it over her closed electronic device and then looked at everyone else's tired expressions and pouted.

"Are y'all having lunch anytime soon?" She asked them, it was getting quite late and she was hungry so she could imagine the just arrived would be too.

"Yeah, definitely." Cameron answered, he was starving and tired after the flight but he would rather use the last of his energy to eat. "Any recommendations?"

Ella tilted her head to the side slightly as she tried to think but eventually settled for an easy and good answer for them, "The hotel restaurant is quite good actually."

Ben nodded, too exhausted to even think of making a decision of where to go to have a bite of food. "Think it'll be that today, we're too tired to go somewhere else." The last statement was one that everyone agreed on, Alex and Ella smiled sympathetically when they hummed and mumbled in agreement.

"Bless you, I'll come with you." Ella settled, having missed her familiar crew after a while away from home. But she didn't want Alex to feel left out so she offered, "Alex, wanna join?"

He hesitantly looked around the group as if to silently ask for permission to intrude but they were all neutral as they looked back at him so he used his words to ask, "If that's alright?"

Tyler clicked his tongue and smiled at him, "'Course man, the more the merrier." which got the same enthusiastic response from the rest of them so he gave in.

"Cheers mate." He thanked, and followed as they all rose from their seats.

Quickly going upstairs to leave her stuff in her room, Ella came back downstairs and walked into the restaurant to find them all sitting down at a big table. It didn't take them long to make a decision on what to eat, entirely driven by hunger and the need to just get back to their rooms as soon as they could.

And just as quick as they ordered their food, they ate it. With conversation in between bites, but regardless of it, they had only taken forty minutes to ask for the bill and get out of there.

"That was lovely." Margaret said kindly, after Alex had offered to pay for their meal and they had reluctantly agreed he could.

Ben agreed with a soft groan, "It was, but I'm exhausted now."

"Did you manage to get any sleep on the way here?" Alex seriously asked, Ben's undereye bags looked heavy and dark.

Cameron beat the director to an answer when he snorted in laughter, "Only think Tyler did, we were all pretty restless."

Tyler chuckled, a smug look on his face since he was the one who looked least like a zombie, "Knocked out most of it."

"Lucky Tyler." Ella shook her head in an attempt to taunt him and it got her a middle finger which made her laugh.

Soon enough, the waitress came back with Alex's card and receipt and they were all good to go. They slowly walked out and into the lobby and just as they got to the lifts, Alex turned to Ella and then Ben and decided he would go.

"I'll leave you guys to rest." He said softly, watching as everyone but Ella and Tyler looked at him through half lidded eyes, "See you lot tomorrow." He took his time to briefly hug everyone goodbye.

"Goodnight Alex." Ben said as he patted his back, letting go of him a few seconds later.

Alex wrapped his arms tightly around Ella then, and she did the same, savoring the feeling by closing her eyes, "Bye Alex."

"Goodnight darling." He dropped a kiss on her cheek before wishing her "Sweet dreams."

His words had a toothy smile breaking on her face and she just couldn't not say it back, so she pulled back and wished him, "Sweet dreams, Al. See you tomorrow." with a soft nose scrunch and a little squeeze of his shoulders.

That was enough for him to melt inside so he left feeling all warm and fuzzy, a grin stayed on his face as he walked away and turned to wave at them one last time in the middle of the lobby before he disappeared from their view as he went.

But then Ella was met with a bunch of intent looks, a few smirks and raised eyebrows. It was like she'd been caught red handed and she didn't like it.

"What?" She asked, annoyed at the silence and the unwavering looks on their faces, pressing aggressively on the button to call down the elevator.

"Nothing." Ben replied innocently, but his smirk grew bigger in contrast so Ella sighed exasperatedly.

"You know what? I didn't miss you, I take it back."

Ben took that as an opportunity to taunt her further though, so he teased, "Yeah, bet you're having the best time here aren't you?"

The crew laughed at the words and Ella let her mouth open and close as her confusion grew, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." Ben said again and it made her roll her eyes harder.

The elevator's door opened and she was the first to go in, calling them out and scolding them with a stern "Y'all should go to bed." that made Tyler and Margaret snort out in laughter. Ella paid them no mind and asked, "Which floor are you on?"

"Fourth."

She was selfishly glad their taunting would be cut short by the fact that they weren't floor neighbors and she faked a pout as she said, "Awh, okay. I'm on the third."

The lift didn't take long to take them up to the third floor and when the door opened, she walked out quickly and wished them, "Goodnight guys!" with a blown kiss to follow with "Love y'all!"

The crew said, "Goodnight Ella!" in unison right as the door started closing and with a sigh she made way back to her hotel room.

It had been a very long day but at least she was glad that the two following days would be filled by her doing what she loved and it would serve as a great distraction to the looming ache of her homecoming approaching faster than she wanted it to.

Five more days was all she had, and she wasn't sure if she was even prepared for what they would bring.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

A/N: Ella's UK trip is coming to an end :'( How are we feeling about it? What do you think is gonna happen? Some of you actually guessed who the date was with and I fucking love that! Hope you enjoyed that, it was really fun writing it to be honest and I'm really excited to see your reactions. Thanks so so much from the bottom of my heart for reading and commenting and voting/liking, sending asks and messages about this story, it makes me so happy beyond words to see y'all enjoying it *cries* Love you lot and see you soon with the next one! x

Taglist:  @imagine-that-100 @red---moon @kennedy-brooke @faveficz @indierockgirrl @ladydraculasthings @moonvr​ @unwantedlovergirl​ @eaglestar31 @nikisfwn​ @funniestpersoninnyc​ @andrearroe​ @justacaliforniandreamer​ @alexturnersgf69 @yourorganiccigarette

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist! x

[obeiii-mee]

Hello! Can I request an hc about a shady MC who's not phase by anything in Devildom with the brothers (and Diavolo?? he deserves love!!!)? Like, when Luci's like "i CaN KiLL yOu hUmAN", MC's reaction was like "Oh... congratulations then." i need more shady mc who may or may not be planning to ruin your life😂😂 Thanks and take care!!❤❤

The Brothers + Diavolo with an MC that is not phased by DevilDom

__________________________________

Pls I need more shady MC, they would not take any shit from the brothers. Put any Gen Z-er with these guys and you’ve got yourself a suicidal and reckless human exchange student.

They wouldn’t know what to do with one of those ahaksbakanhaka you’re right, Diavolo deserves all the love >:(((((((

You better take care too >:( thanks for sending me this big brain request. I’ve been preoccupied with other projects so I took a while to get to this ask. Hope you’re doing OK💙

____________________________________

Lucifer:

-He thought having a human exchange student was going to be bad enough as it is but this…..this was so much worse than he could have ever imagined

-The moment you arrived, he already knew you were going to be a problem child and a persistent one at that

-Literally the first thing you asked him was : “Why do you look like an off-brand Levi Ackerman?”

-And he was left there, astounded, confused and offended because he had no idea who you were talking about (cuz at that point you hadn’t met the third eldest) and the tone you had was, frankly, pissing him off

-You kept wondering off on your own????? Without looking like you gave a shit even though you almost walked into a butcher’s shop that specialises in human meat???? Tf MC?

-Also really irritated that you couldn’t be intimidated and that DevilDom was like a playground to you, for some reason? Like, MC get out of the fiery pits of eternally tormented souls- this is Hell, not the McDonald’s ball pit ffs

-Things did not improve for him lmao, by the end of the first week he had already ripped out a good chunk of his hair because of you

-“MC, you should know by now provoking demons like this for no good reason is only going to make life harder for you. Keep this up and you’ll get killed in no time because of your behaviour.”

-“Great, can we have a hip-hip and a hurray?”

-In the span of one day, he’s had to come to your rescue six times (approximately) because you’re too nonchalant about your surroundings around literal creatures of hell

-He doesn’t have enough coffee or will to live for this bs

-“Lucifer, I found this dead plant and brought it here because it reminded me of you.”

-“…..sigh. Why? Why does it remind you of me?”

-“Because it’s cold and unresponsive.”

-He made the consecutive decision to ignore you

-(low-key kept the plant tho)

-Honestly, you get on his nerves a lot and he has definitely contemplated killing you in the past but at the end of the day he really can’t bring himself to do it

-We both know he tried a few times lmfao

-“I will tear you limb from limb, human-“

-“Can I finish my tea first.”

-“You…wait, what?”

-“You’re crazy if you think I’m letting this tea get cold. Try to kill time before I’m done and I’ll smash this cup against your head.”

-If you try hard enough, you might even elicit a laugh out of him, especially if your shadiness is directed at any of his brother which results in him patting your head affectionately

-Nowadays he’s just concerned because you seemed to have made an alliance of sorts with Belphagour and Satan and that’s not a good sign

-For his sake, if not yours, at least try to survive the year without getting chomped on by a random demon please

-He’s too stubborn to let you die just because you’re unbothered by everything so cut him some slack and help out damn it

Mammon:

-“Oi Lucifer, how come I’m stuck babysittin’ this stupid human?”

-“And how come I’m stuck with this asshole for a tour guide, with his fake ass designer shoes and no brand sunglasses. That’s a lot of smack talk from someone with crow shit stains covering the back of his jacket. Also, did you stick your hair in a bucket of mayonnaise?”

-……..

-He was so offended lol

-Normally, humans like you cower in fear whenever demons are as much as mentioned because of the whole “I can eat you whole” thing

-And here you are; insulting the Avatar of Greed and one of the princes of Hell himself just because you didn’t like his attitude

-Don’t worry tho, he warms up to you in less than a fucking month simply because you still come to his rescue whenever his brothers start insulting him and wow, look at that, his heart is now combusting on the floor

-“Y’all have no right to criticise Mammon when he has the most self control out of all of you.”

-“Since when does Mammon have any self control? He can’t keep himself from nicking anything that looks shiny.”

-“Motherfucker, I don’t see him trying to choke me to death, respectfully pls shut the fuck up. I don’t want to say I have favourites but if I do, it’s definitely him.”

-While Mammon’s in the background, with hearts instead of pupils in his eyes like ❤️👄❤️

-He doesn’t even mind running around after you anymore (will still complain about it though because your ass is in constant danger and he’s had enough)

-Honestly, you keep starting shit with random demons, some of which are quite powerful mind you, and you don’t back down even when he’s there to step in

-Would low key love to watch you fight one of your classmates at RAD and organise a ticket selling booth for the event but Lucifer will hang him a new one if he does

-So for now, he sticks to baring his teeth at the aggravator in question and you’re there, giving the same demon the middle finger

-The way you sometimes match his energy gets him so hyped up lmao

-“Mammon, did you steal Levi’s money again?”

-“T’s none of her business human. Now go away, shoo!”

-“Bitch, don’t ‘shoo’ me, I ain’t a bird. Now tell me, did you?”

-“…..Why do you ask?”

-“Because a new flavour of instant noodles just got announced, called ‘Super Hell-Sauce Flavour’ and I thought you might be more interested in that than wasting the money on gambling.”

-“….ok but only if you come with me to buy some.”

-This…this is true love right here

Levi:

-Oh no, now there’s two of you

-Why do I feel like his energy would match MC’s almost immediately? Maybe it’s because he spends too much time in his room on the internet like the rest of us do

-“What do you want, you stupid normie?”

-“300…..”

-“….300 what?”

-“300 mangas collected, thousands of episodes of anime watched, over 60 character figurines, plushies, body pillows, merchandise and several posters only to be called a fucking normie by a demon weeb that’s only known me for 10 minutes.”

-Boom, instant friendship

-He becomes attached to you almost immediately and now that he knows how unphased you are by DevilDom, he is seriously worried

-Hell, you’re making him consider going outside his room just to make sure you’re alive and not dead in a ditch somewhere because you decided to get on someone’s nerves that particular day

-Even during the quiz thing, when he almost kills you, you’re just sitting on the floor and awkwardly watching him as he throws a sissy fit

-Levi feels sort of conflicted with you because one one hand you’re good company and he loves having you around, you’re his Henry after all

-But on the other hand, you put yourself in so much danger it makes him paranoid so often to the point where he wants to keep you locked in his room and wrapped in bubble wrap

-Nearly had a heart attack when you almost walked right into a pit of lava like MC???? This isn’t one of his video games???? You’re not gonna respawn if you die????

-Besides all that, he gets a bit jealous of you confidence and your ability to just do whatever without fearing death or consequence

-“MC, how do you do it?”

-“Do what?”

-“How do you go about your life without a care in the world?”

-“I guess I’ll tell you my secret Levi. I’m not like other humans that’s why, I’m just so unique I do things differently.”

-“You sound like a pick me-“

-As long as you’re OK and not injured because of your carelessness, he’s indifferent about your behaviour and will even applaud you for your bravery when it comes to this sort of thing

-“lmao the human exchange student just dumped Solomon’s cooking in the trash while looking him dead in the eye 💀💀💀”

Satan:

-Your attitude towards DevilDom and demons in general kept him entertained, if nothing else

-You rarely seemed to consider how much of a threat that place really is and usually you were just running around, completely ignoring Lucifer’s rules and doing your own thing

-Which, you know, he’s all about

-I can’t say there were no incidents between the two of you

-With his short temper and your tendency to say things without caring about the consequences, there were definitely moments when he might’ve snapped on you

-“MC for goodness sake, what happened to my room?”

-“What do you mean?”

-“It’s an absolute mess! I just told you to bring me my spells and curses book, not mow through everything!”

-“It’s not my fault this place is built like a fucking labyrinth. You should be grateful I went to get it for you at all, I almost tripped and died several times on my way back. Also, you should get a new ladder for your shelves. It did the broken.”

-“MC….”

-“Yes?”

-“You are so lucky I love you.”

-Other than the fact his anger takes over him when things like these happen, he not so subtly encourages you to keep going because seeing Lucifer scowl at your antics gets him wheezing his lungs out

-I like to think Satan would be very impressed, even in the beginning, at the amount of nonchalance you can radiate at times

-I mean, you sure as hell don’t see it often and he loves how unpredictable you are more often than not

-If anything, he should probably thank you-idk how, but his patience has increased significantly every since you got here and he appreciates having some more control of his emotions

-“I’m gonna go put oil in Lucifer’s shoes.”

-“Do you have a death wish?”

-“Satan, I am old enough to make my own decisions and I concluded that this action is necessary.”

-“Necessary for what?”

-“Raising everyone’s morale! All of you seemed to feel down lately so I thought this would be fun for everybody!”

-“Except Lucifer, right?”

-“Except Lucifer. He grounded me from my D.D.D like I’m a fucking teenager who needs to be supervised-pssshht, I’m the most responsible one here.”

-“Yes clearly.”

-“Goodbye dear Satan, I may die today. But it’s for the greater good! (Dramatic exit with sound effects)”

-“WAIT MC!”

-“(pops head back in) yes?”

-“May I offer you my assistance?”

-You’re basically taking turns pranking his brothers and it’s hilarious

-Satan is not too worried about your well being simply because he knows his siblings and him are always going to be nearby to save you if you pull something stupid again

-Even so, he checks up on you throughout the day; just to make sure

-“Where were you?”

-“Running from a bunch of demons. Who wanted to go munchy crunchy on me, I assume.”

-“……”

-“Either that or people here are a lot friendlier than originally expected.”

-You can be such a handful and it really tests him, especially when he’s angry enough to begin with

-But despite your amazing talent at either getting completely lost around Hell, purposely walking into a prohibited place just because you felt like it or riling up others with how blunt you are, he still cares about you deeply

-You may be a pain the ass, but you’re his pain in the ass <3

Asmo:

-He should’ve known something was up with this particular human when you stood there, completely calm and collected, while Beel salivated at the thought of eating you on your first day

-Asmo just brushed it off for a while but it kept happening???

-The first time Lucifer ever told you off, you really went and said “Or what? Are you going to eat me? If so, you can go ahead and start with-“

-He came to your rescue and covered your mouth before you got to finish and before Lucifer unleashed his wrath on to everyone in that house

-“OOPSIE! I think MC has been spending too much time with me. Sorry Lucifer, we gotta run now! We have a party to attend, don’t we MC darling?”

-“You mean the one hosted by the guy that tried to kill me because I shoved into him on the hallway at school and then proceeded to tell him to go fuck himself right back into whatever hell hole he was born in before you came and charmed our way out of it?”

-“Yes.”

-“Ah OK. “

-You’re tiring for sure but you’re not exactly unlikeable

-You have a certain charm hanging about you that Asmo loves

-“I almost died like…30 minutes ago.”

-“WAIT WHAT?? WHY?? WHAT HAPPENED-MC ARE YOU OK???”

-“Yeah, I almost drank some poison today because someone told me it was water. It smelt off though so I didn’t.”

-“….”

-“Anyway, I got you this bracelet on my way home.”

-He really does wish you would take things a bit more seriously

-This is your life on the line, you know? What would he do if you died?

-“MC, you’re not immortal, you can die so much more easily than I can, you know that right???”

-“I don’t care.”

-“Well I do! And you should too….”

-A lot of people don’t see past his vanity tbh, because he can be such a caring person towards the people he loves

-The amount of videos he has of you appearing to be completely calm while pure chaos is descending in the background is pretty impressive

-Every time he uses his charm on you to try and get you to commit his sin, it just doesn’t work???? For some reason???? And even if it’s just with simple, innocent affection for now, he is determined to tempt you into it

-“MC~gimme a hug!”

-“But that’s social interaction and I don’t support it- do you have a charger for my D.D.D by any chance?

-Or at least die trying to ig

-Asmo loves having you around but you’re giving him wrinkles and that’s not okay >:(

Beel:

-The moment he realised how carefree you actually were, he sort of started checking up with you quite frequently throughout the day

-It’s his way of protecting you but if he could, he would follow you around all the time

-Becomes your body guard because you may not care enough about your safety but he certainly does so get ready to be carried everywhere

-You will not get hurt nor will anyone mess with you if he has a say in it and let me tell you, he does

-Thing is, his brothers mostly know him for being slightly dense in some aspects of day to day life

-He’s not perceptive of things that don’t involve food or his loved ones

-And because you most definitely are a loved one of his, he does notice how careless you are really often

-And it scares, rather worries, him because DevilDom is an incredibly dangerous place-even with all the precautions they had taken when you came

-“MC get down, you could fall.”

-“But Beel, look-I’m finally taller than everyone else! Taller than you even! Hey, should I do a backflip?”

-He has no idea why you thought jumping from 60 meter high cliff into a small river of squashed demon blood was a good idea but he wasn’t going to risk anything just because you felt like showing off your diving skills

-Proceeds to carry you away, completely unfazed

-In this case, I feel like Beel is not someone who gets bothered by the horrible things happening around there either

-As long as he has food and his family is safe and happy then he’s also happy, as mentioned above

-But he knows he’s alright with DevilDom because he’s been living here for centuries now

-A bit curious as to why you’re so unbothered

-And even more curious as to why you weren’t terrified of him transforming in his demon form after he lost control when he found out you ate his pudding

-Or more like Mammon did and pushed the blame on you

-“YOU. ATE. MY. PUDDING!”

-“Beel I love you but if you did not just see Mammon shoving the damn container in my mouth two seconds prior to this, then you might need glasses.”

-He apologised to you later for it but even so, you didn’t seem to mind like at all and he didn’t really understand why

-Unless you end up explaining why exactly you feel so indifferent about your life being in potential danger, he won’t really pry

-But now he has even more reason to follow you around like a lost puppy

-Since it’s clear you don’t really care about protecting yourself

-So now it’s his job to do it

-MC protection squad? Mostly Beel and Mammon

-ahhh he cute

Belphie:

-Oh

-You piss him off so much

-He’s trying to have his moment, you know?

-Finally getting that glimmer of satisfaction after killing a human as a way to avenge his sister’s death

-Trying his hardest to make it as miserable as possible because he has so much rage in him, he needs you to suffer

-“Harder Daddy-“

-“Oh fuck off.”

-Nah but for real, what the fuck MC

-Why does he even bother, he feels like he should be sleeping instead of dealing with your bullshit

-Even afterwards, when your future self shows up and he tries to kill you again, you look more thoughtful than irritated???

-Lucifer and Beel are literally holding him back from doing another Chocky on you and you’re standing there, looking at him with your eyebrows raised

-“Hey Belphie, I have a quick question. I know you’re trying to kill me and everything but do you like the colour blue?”

-“HUH??!?!”

-“It’s a simple yes or no question Belphie. Do. You. Like. Blue?”

-“WHAT DOES IT MATTER???!!!”

-“BELPHAGOUR, AVATAR OF SLOTH-YES OR NO, JUST FUCKING ANSWER!”

-“YES! FUCK YOU!”

-“Ah ok thanks. I like blue too :)”

-????????????

-Pls he felt like sticking his foot down your throat

-As of late, he’s kind of glad he didn’t manage to scare you away that day and that he didn’t traumatise you or something

-At the time, he was mad because he didn’t understand why you weren’t scared but now he just wants to make it up to you

-“You didn’t deserve any of that. I’m sorry MC, I won’t blame you if you decide to stay away from me now.”

-“Stfu dipshit, what’s gotten you so depressed? Did you have another fight with Beel? I told you not to eat the last slice of cake.”

-“Rude ass, I was trying to apologise for my past mistakes-let me repent will you?”

-“Said no demon ever. Now let’s go hang out you emo bitch.”

-Y’all vibe together on a spiritual level once that shit gets sorted out

-But he’s kinda scared you might pull out a knife on him ngl

-Obviously, you’re still annoying as fuck with that indifferent attitude of yours but he can live with it

-He appreciates the fact that you’re not scared of him, even after what he’s done

Diavolo:

-Ah yes, the future King of DevilDom himself

-He’s very enthusiastic about the idea of you having fun this year…..and to keep you alive….

-He, of course, expected a range of reactions from you when he first summoned you here

-None of which were “Ok but could you not have given me a heads up? Before the whole teleportation thing? I face-planted your onto marvellously polished the floor and now I think I lost even more brain cells than before.”

-He felt so bad gagajajahahwgehhsb

-He apologised for bringing you out here without any warning like that and then proceeded to introduce you to everyone

-Diavolo is actually kind of relieved to see you’re handling everything pretty well

-He thought that maybe DevilDom was too much for a human to deal with

-Meeting Barbatos also went incredibly smooth

-“Barbatos? The one that cleans the floors right? Big fan of your work, I could eat off the floor of the main hall.”

-He’s so glad to see you getting along with everyone and not getting intimidated by the brothers

-It gets him excited thinking about how the exchange program is gonna work and all three realms will be united

-But he’s not stupid so don’t think he’ll allow you to stumble around, getting up to all sorts of mischief

-He always has someone watching you because he would hate to see you die, despite being pretty fond of your carefree attitude

-“MC, please be careful. Most demons here aren’t all that nice.”

-“Aye aye Captain.”

-He fears that many demons would take your indifference as a challenge and try to assert dominance or something by kidnapping you

-As far as creatures of hell go, they love installing fear in people

-So he always keeps an extra eye open for you

-And he’ll be there to help you if something goes wrong

-But other than that, he’s pretty chill as well and he finds you so hilarious, it’s been a while since he’s seen someone as eccentric and dramatic as Mammon and Asmo

-Idk what else to add here, Diavolo is very accepting and as long as you don’t get hurt, he’s glad you can get used to your new surroundings so easily

———————————-

Al~

[fivelakesinwriting]

The Other Woman {Ward Cameron}

Author's Notes: Ward has a mistress - but part of me also feels like Rose was the mistress at another point in his life. I have a feeling this story is very niche, but I wanted to write it. So..here we go. Please let me know what you think if you have a moment! xoxo

Warnings: Cheating, obviously. Character is very much of age - I'm thinking mid 30s.. Drinking, Sexual tension - sexual references/innuendos

Requested? Nope, kinda think this is just for me.. Requests for OBX are open.

*My work is not to be transferred, copied, translated or reposted to any other sites without my permission. Please see my masterlist for all other works and warnings. Thank you! xoxo

His house was quiet, and that wasn't very common. For a man with three children - all within their teen years- it wasn't often that he had his grandiose home to himself.

Ward Cameron sat at his large, well polished desk and looked out the bay windows at the expansive property he had worked so hard for. He reached into the crystal vase upon the desk and pulled out a cigar, running his fingertips over it as he thought about the time he had to himself.

He placed the cigar delicately back on the desk and then reached for his cell phone. He opened up his contacts and scrolled through to find her name, then hit the dial button.

The phone rang, rang and rang. She liked to make him wait despite the way he had told her, many times, he didn't like to be kept waiting. He tapped his fingers impatiently against the wood of his desk as he approached the sixth ring, her voicemail about to pick up.

"Hi." Her voice sang on the other end of the voice, out of breath.

"Where were you?" Ward asked gruffly as he placed his cigar back in the crystal vase. He wasn't ready for it just yet.

"I just got finished working out, Ward." She breathed out.

"Yoga or Pilates today?" Ward inquired, his voice low.

"Treadmill. I'm sweaty and disgusting." She replied, that cocky smile and eyebrow raise beyond evident.

"Good. Don't change. I'll be over in 15 minutes." Ward stated as he stood up from his executive seat, and reached for his keys at the edge of his desk. He hung up the phone and made his way quickly from his office at the corner of the house and out to his vehicle, still warm from the setting sun.

He made it to her home in record time. The small house that could fit inside Tannyhill almost three times over sat between The Cut and Figure Eight - No Man's Land - as his wife kindly called it. There wasn't a lot around, not even other houses, but he knew that's why she liked it.

Ward parked his car, his shiny black SUV a sore thumb in front of her home. He clicked the lock button on his fob twice, to be sure, then made his way towards the front door.

"A 7p.m booty call? Man, you are old." She smiled as she opened her front door, and leaned against the frame to watch him as he made his way up the steps of her porch.

"Well, some of us don't have the luxury of living alone. Do we?" Ward asked as he ascended the stairs and made his way over to her, slow but with intention.

"Where is our friend Rose tonight?" She questioned as she pushed her body of the door frame to stand in front of him, her eyes scanning his body. So perfectly dressed for every occasion.

"At a meeting for the Women of Outer Banks Ladies Who Lunch Event." Ward grinned, his hands in his pocket.

"That's disgusting." She grimaced as she stood on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck.

"Ladies need lunch." Ward replied with a shrug while he removed his hands from his pockets to place them on her hips.

"I wouldn't know. I don't get invited to those types of events." She replied as she placed her hands on his shoulders, then slid her hands down to his chest.

"Yeah. Well, you don't want to be around those women anyways." Ward mumbled , his eyes looking just passed her and into the small home.

"Come inside, Ward. I'll make you a drink. Something fun. You've been drinking straight from the bottle for too long." She smiled as she removed her hands from his chest to take his hand and pull him inside.

Ward let the woman lead him inside her home, his eyes all over the objects inside as he familiarized himself with everything once more. He closed the door gently behind him then made his way up behind her as she looked over her small collection of bottles on a small bar cart.

"I always keep just a tiny bottle of scotch here for you, even though it's disgusting. I think you should have something fun, with lime or something. But it's your choice." She stated as her back was to him, the bottles clanking together as she read the labels.

Ward closed the distance between them, his chest pressed to her back as he stood directly behind her. He took hold of her waist and turned her around. A small smile passed his thin lips as she gasped at his firm touch. His rough fingertips smoothed over the curves of her body, catching on the material of her clothes.

"You're not that sweaty." Ward mumbled as his hands reached beneath the waistband of her shorts to gently touch her skin.

"It took you forever to get here." She quipped with a smirk, a small shiver running down her spine at the feel of his hands on her.

Ward chuckled at his lover's impatience. The drive from Tannyhill to No Man's Land was less than 15 minutes, 10 with the way he drove. He rolled the waistband of her tight workout pants down, showing off her hips. He pressed his forehead to hers and let her unbutton the first few buttons of his shirt.

"How do you feel about going for a ride on the boat next weekend?" Ward asked as he pressed a kiss to the side of her face, his hands firmly on the sides of her ass.

"You want to take me out on your yacht?" She questioned as she pulled back to look up him, a smile crossing his face.

"I wouldn't call it a yacht, but yes." Ward grinned, a hand removed from her backside to reach up and push a piece of hair behind her ear.

"What about -"

"Rose and the girls will be out of town for some sort of bonding trip. And Rafe will be, well. I don't know where Rafe goes, but he won't have the boat." Ward replied with a soft sigh as he placed his hand on the side of her neck.

"You know, you're too hard on him. You were a 19 year old boy at one point your life, too." She stated as her fingers continued their trail down his shirt, undoing his buttons.

"Well, when I was 19 years old I was working three jobs and paying my own way through school. Not asking for handouts on top of allowances. He and I, we're different." Ward sighed as he removed his hands from his lover, slowly backing away from her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up. I know that he's kind of an issue for you right now." She replied, as she ran her hands over her face.

As Ward opened his mouth to reply, he touched his pocket, a deep sigh rumbling in his chest. He pulled out his phone and brought it to his ear.

"Hello, sweetheart." Ward greeted, pasting on a beaming smile despite how his eyes looked so sad over at his lover.

"I'm just at the office finishing up a few contracts. Do you need me now?" He asked as he placed his other hand in his pocket, pacing the small living room.

"Okay. I'll be there in about 20 minutes, meet me in our usual pick up spot. Love you too, Wheezie." Ward ended the conversation with his youngest, then placed the phone back in his pocket with another heavy sigh.

He looked across the room at her again, his eyes apologetic. He took the few steps over to her and wrapped her in his arms again, placing a small kiss to the top of her head.

"I have to go." Ward mumbled as he pulled her close.

"It's okay. Guess I'll just shower without you." She replied, a small smile on her face as she pressed a kiss to his chest.

"I suppose so. But next weekend I'll be here early in the morning to pick you up to take you out on the water, okay? I promise." Ward stated, a smile of his own crossing his lips.

"Whatever you say, Ward." She shrugged as she placed her hands on his sides, under his unbuttoned shirt to keep him close.

Ward leaned down to press his lips to hers, the whiskers of his beard tickling to soft skin of her face. As quickly as his lips were there, he pulled away. He took his hands off of her to begin buttoning up his shirt once more. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and slowly made his way towards her front door again, his fingertips touching his lips before he turned back to her.

"9am. Saturday. I will be here and I expect you to be out front waiting for me." Ward stated firmly, a small smile on his bearded face.

"Yes, sir." She replied as she brought her hand to her head for a salute.

Ward pointed a finger at her with warning before he tossed her a wink and walked out the front door towards his car, which he was always surprised was still there. He got in the car and drove off of No Man's Land, his hopes alive for the chance to come back on Saturday to take her for a ride on his boat.

Please let me know what you think if you have a moment - perhaps a sequel for a boat ride, if there's interest? Thank you!! xoxo

Requests for OBX are open!

[ilooklikeaburntchickenugget]

Sick Days

A/N: Another Steve AU for you guys. Also, I just hit 100 followers (like after I began writing this) which is crazy so thank you all! I’ll probably do one of those follower milestone things, I just have to figure out what. Thank you again my lovelies, I love you all! Pairing: CEO!Steve Rogers x F!Chubby!Reader (Or skinny reader, you can really fluctuate to your body type.) Word count: 2,486 Warnings: Some slight angst against side characters, swearing.

"Where’s Y/N?” His voice boomed to his various employees, the important ones all across the glass table in the large conference room. The sunlight beaming in through floor to glass windows was interrupted with shadows of the New York skyline, or at least the few buildings that were as high if not higher than the one that occupied Rogers Industries. Everyone fell completely still, completely quiet.

“Um, she texted me this morning, saying she was very sick, Mr. Rogers.” One of his associates very quietly replied.

“She’s sick?” He asked, sighing deeply, turning around and marching out of the room. He flew past the various hallways, every employee immediately moving out of their way for him in confusion and fear. Making his way to his office on the top floor, he slammed the grand doors grabbing his phone and immediately dialing your number. 

“Steve?” You answered after the third ring. Your voice was crackly, he could hear your sniffly nose from the other end, “I’m sorry I didn’t call I-” “Hey, hey, baby.” He cooed, immediately understanding you were actually sick, “No need to justify. How are you feeling?” His voice grew soft and tender, his face dropping from tensions with anger to now tensions with concern.

“Like death.” You responded, to which he sighed, “I haven’t been able to get out of bed, I have a fever of 102, I can’t eat, I couldn’t sleep last night I-” “Okay, okay, alright.” He interrupted you, thinking for a moment. “I need you to head over to my place-” “No, Steve.” You interrupted, “I am not going over to your apartment, excuse me, penthouse, in this condition.”

“Yes, you are.” He fought back.

“Steve, how am I even supposed to get out of bed?” You tried to reason, “It hurts to even pee.”

“Then I’ll pick you up. Literally.” “Steve, no.” You concluded, “Your day is already probably messed up because I’m not there to answer calls and deal with stupid people and help you with whatever you need. I don’t need your pity.”

“I’m not pitying you, I’m worried about you. And no my day is not messed up.” “Yet,” You began.

“Okay, yet.” He admitted, “No one is as good of an assistant as you are. I have four people, two of whom have PhDs, trying to juggle your job. I don’t know how you do it.”

“I don’t know either,” You lightly laughed, to the best of your abilities.

“How about I come over after work then?” He settled, “I’ll bring you some food, anything you want, okay?” You hummed over the phone.

“Sounds great.” You replied, “I love you, Stevie.” You smiled lightly.

“Love you too.” He smiled as well, hanging up.

You had been Steve’s assistant for 10 years. It was funny at first, he was an unknown man starting his own company at 24, you were fresh in college at 18 and needed a job. So, after seeing your work ethic and how smart you were, he decided to hire you, finding you as the perfect fit.

You has been his constant companion for those 10 years, traveling with him all the time, attending meetings, you were always by his side. There was a silent relationship between the two of you. Both of you knew some form of chemistry existed, but never acknowledged it. Until Steve finally asked you out only four months ago.

He had finally grown mature enough to throw away his playboy-type persona. He didn’t want women just to be there, and for them to be attracted to him for his money. Though he was one of the most handsome bachelors for women to lay their eyes on. No, he wanted a true life partner.

And you had been with him since the get-go, when sometimes he couldn’t even pay you one week because everything was so tight. But you stuck with him every second of the way, and he knew if you would go out with him it wasn’t because of his money, but because of him.

Sure, you weren’t as fit as many of the girls he had dated in the past. And maybe the media wouldn’t categorize you as a “beauty”. But you were the most gorgeous woman to him. You were mature, kind, smart, organized. He bragged about you to his closest friends from the beginning, before you even began dating, categorizing you as an “intellectual”, a compliment you would brush off not wanting to boost your ego.

“Jackie,” He called one of his associates who was an acting assistant of the day.

“Yes, Mr. Rogers?” She asked over the phone.

“I need you to get all of these things, preferably from that diner off Broadway and Warren. I need it ready in exactly 20 minutes, back to me in 30.” He began, “I’ve sent them over to you. Get it done. Now.” He hung up, residing back to his usual work.

Only a minute later his office phone was ringing. “Hello?” He answered, partially annoyed considering this has now disrupted his response to a passive aggressive email sent by a nobody at a partnering company.

“Mr. Rogers, they said it wouldn’t be ready for 45-” “Did I say 45 minutes?” He interrupted, aggravation filling his voice.

“No I just-”

“I don’t have 45 minutes. You’re now down to 28 minutes before the food should be placed on my fucking desk and ready to go.” “Mr. Rogers there’s nothing I can do-” “Maybe you can be assertive next time, Jackie, or you’ll be out of a job in a second. Figure it out.” He slammed the phone back on the desk with a loud bang, grunting and rubbing his hand over his face. Leaning back he reflected on your words. “Yet”. If you were the one in charge of that, the food would have been on his desk in 20 minutes, not ready in 45.

It didn’t only annoy him that clearly his associates had no ability to think outside of the little boxes they had placed themselves in, but he was talking about you. Although no one at the office, or in the company, knew you two were dating, anyone who got in the way of you would be fired in a hot second. In a moment he could have them standing outside his skyscraper, box in hands sobbing if they even attempted to bother you. You were not only the most precious asset to his company, you were the most precious thing in his life.

He continued his work, not worry too much about how everything was going outside of his office. If anyone fucked up, he would fire them. Easy as that. Once again, his gratitude for you grew greater and greater as he got a text from you.

Please don’t say you’re going to hard on people. I know you’re kind of an ass of a boss, but at least go a little easy on them today. Xo, Y/N

He couldn’t help but smile a little bit. Damn right he was an ass of a boss, and he prided himself on it. As he began responding, Jackie rushed in, looking both winded and scared. “Here you are, Mr. Rogers.” She placed the three bags full of food on his desk.

“You’re three minutes late.” He sat up, looking over the bags, “If I wasn’t in a good mood you would be fired. I’ll let you off on this one.” He sighed, she stood there and took a deep sigh.

“T-thank you, Mr. Rogers.” She nervously walked out.

Trying not to, babe :). Try to be nice to yourself, too, you deserve it. Xo, Steve

He responded, smiling as he sent it, counting down the minutes to be home with you, cooing you and comforting you. He wanted nothing more than to just sit with you all day and watch TV shows, hearing your snarky and stupid commentary. He loved every moment of it.

He removed his mind from his favorite topic, you, and decided to try and focus on some work, as a distraction from the fact he couldn’t be right there with you. Scrolling through stupid emails and paperwork only made his need to be with you all that much worst, his watch not moving fast enough for his liking. With a frustrated sigh he took matters into his own hands.

Stuffing his work in his workbag, he grabbed his phone, getting up and storming out of his office with the take out bags. Everyone looked up at him, confusion and worry ridden all over their faces. He never left early, let alone an hour early.

“Um, Mr. Rogers,” One of his associates perked up, trailing behind him a bit.

“What.” He snapped, not changing his gaze from straight ahead.

“You have that meeting in an hour with Mr. Wilson, where are you going-” Steve stopped in his tracks, turning around to face the boy behind him with a grimace look. “Where I am going is none of your business. And reschedule the meeting with him, he’ll understanding.” And just like that, the man took off again, leaving out the doors and to his car. Slamming his door, he messily started the ignition, holding the leather steering wheel to his Audi, knuckles turning white with annoyance.

His face was blank as he sped through New York traffic, aggressively beeping at all the idiots in his way. He knew you would be scolding the shit out of him right now if you were in the passenger seat, letting him know that you thought he should go back to driving school. He would just lightly smile at your spunk, loving it ever so much.

Speeding into your parking garage underground, he managed to finally find a spot, cursing himself out numerous times for not being there earlier to save one of these now filled spaces. He grabbed his keys and bags with speed, clumsily hanging onto everything, only determined to get to you.

He made his way up the elevator from the parking garage to floor 34, where you were. The elevator was far too slow, in his opinion. He had been meaning to get you a new apartment recently, not that your apartment wasn’t safe or anything. It just wasn’t nice or good enough for you, in his opinion. Granted, nothing in this world would be good enough for you in his eyes. You deserved every damn thing.

He walked out of the elevator, perseverance painted across his face. Finally, he made it to the far end of the carpeted hallway, grabbing your key off of his key ring and placed it in, taking a sigh when it opened. “Baby?” He called, his entire mood changing in a second at the smell and sight of your home. When there was no response, he quietly shut the door, locking it, placing the bags of food on the counter.

Taking his work shoes off along with his jacket and tie, he crept into your room. There you were, an angel from the heavens in his sight, scrunched up in your own warmth under your large comforter, your favorite blanket sprawled out over you. He smiled to himself, unbuttoning the top few buttons of his shirt and removing his cuffs.

Climbing into bed next to you as easily as he could, in hopes he wouldn’t stir you, he placed his large arm over your body, shorter than his, and moved himself closer to you, providing warmth. You moved a bit with a light groan, “Stevie?” You asked, still half asleep, but moving over and closer to his warmth so now you were now the little spoon.

“Hey, baby doll.” He whispered with a smile, kissing the top of you head. “Go back to sleep, m’kay? You need rest.” You shook your head with a yawn, opening your eyes to see the man you loved, a smile growing across your face.

“You woke me up.” You slightly laughed.

“’M sorry.” He smiled back, taking your messy, natural, unbrushed hair in his fingers and brushing out some of the small tangles.

“It’s okay.” You moved even closer to him so every inch of your side was touching his warmth.

“Have you eaten anything today?” He asked next, with a sweet, calming voice. You shook your head into his shoulder, “Okay,” He muttered, “I brought you some food.” “Stevie I’m not that hungry-”

“I got you chicken tenders.” He countered. You sighed in defeat.

“Fine.” You replied, rolling over just a bit to let him go get it. He got the memo, getting up and quickly retrieving the take out boxes.

“Here ya go, babe.” He smiled, helping you sit up, and giving the box to you.

You graciously accepted the food, opening it and taking a bite, sighing with a smile. “Best boyfriend ever.” You smiled, taking another bite and leaning your head on his shoulder. “So,” You began, “How was the office today?” He scoffed, “A nightmare.” You chuckled.

“Of course it was.”

“I had four people playing my assistants today, and not a single one could send an email to Stark or Barnes, my two most prominent allies in this business. It’s ridiculous-” “Steve,” You interrupted, “I already sent those emails today.” “For real?” He turned to you, his face turning serious, “You have a fever of 102, can barely move, and you sent two emails?” “And faxed over some paper work, and scheduled a few of your meetings for next month, and got your next travel itinerary set.” You responded.

“Jeez,” He sighed, at a complete lose for words, “You are one of a kind, you know that? Literally the most incredible person at that company, or most companies for that matter.” You lightly smiled.

“No need to flatter me, I was doing my job.” You blew it off.

“Your job today was to rest and relax.” “Steven,” You looked up at him, “You’re forgetting who I am. I’m not relaxing until my work is done,” You continued, “Now that it is, I say we watch some TV for the rest of the night. Game of Thrones or Westworld?” You asked next. He just looked at you confused, “Westworld it is.” You replied, grabbing your remote on your bedside. “Now c’mon, you need to relax too. I can feel how tense you are from here.”

“Fine.” He replied, reluctantly loosening his shoulders a bit.

“There you go babe,” You smiled, sniffling a bit due to your current condition right after, “Just relax a little. We’re not at work, no stupid people.” He lightly laughed. Using his hand, he took your chin and moved your head to look at his face.

“I’m the luckiest guy in the world, you know that?” You smiled and maneuvered your head to his shoulder again.

“Not nearly as lucky as I am to have you, Mr. Rogers.”

[stressedoutcanary]

Hold On - Jason Todd x Batgirl!Reader [PART 3]

What this includes: Violence, a combo of angst and fluff, and just to be on the safe side I’d say language.

Word count: 3.1k

A/N😋: I am so glad it’s finally finished, now it won’t be sitting in my drafts staring at me all day. Also forgive me for any mistakes, half of it is written at 3 AM

Part 1 , Part 2

•°•°•°•°

“This is it”, you breathed out, stopping your bike near a bush making sure that place was obscure enough. You placed the helmet on the handle and hopped off the bike. After taking a few steps forward and scouting the area, you clicked your comms back on.

“O care to give me the layout of what I am getting myself into, ‘cause we all know the last time didn’t go so well”

“Nightwing said you might call me for backup and now I owe him 20 uggh! Anyways onto the problem at hand, I’m picking up a few heat signatures from the basement area and the schematics of the building indicate a vent on the other side which might help you get in.”

“Is there anything else I should know?”

There was no reply on the other end and you assumed she was looking into it. To your bad luck, it was far from it. You heard an all too familiar grunt and mentally cursed yourself for forgetting that it was an open line.

“(Y/N), I thought I made myself clear”, Bruce’s modulated voice came through which low-key made you want to strangle him with your bare hands.

“Oh come on B! Didn’t Alfred teach you that listening in on other people’s conversations is bad manners”

“We are 10 minutes out you will not be going in till we get there”

‘Like Hell I won’t’

“Hello? B? Your voice is breaking up. I can’t hear you! there is some interference in the signal. Batman?”

“Don’t- ” you clicked the comms off before he could finish his sentence and breathed a sigh of relief. ”Note to self after what you just did, avoid showing your face to anyone in the fam for at least a week.”

Snooping around, you came across the vent Babs told you about and you smirked to yourself, “Bless those idiots who decided to make an excess amount of vents throughout Gotham, plus no dumbass to shoot open the lock on any door, huh I’d say it’s going pretty good for me.”

After going through a very, very dusty vent, you silently dropped down to floor behind a goon and cleared your throat to draw his attention. As soon as he turned around, his jaw was met with your right hook, making him plummet to the ground. Grabbing him by the collar you inched closer to his face, which was yet again fully covered by a white mask.

“Alright no-face, tell me where Pyg is right now”, you made use of your deep modulated voice, making the man dart his eyes towards the far right corner of the room. You knew what that meant and without wasting any more time, you knocked him out and scurried over, finding a heavy door at the end. Somehow managing to push open the door, you were faced with a circular stairwell leading down.

“Well Oracle did say she got heat signatures down in the basement.”, you sighed and started taking calculated steps, making sure to check for any traps. ‘Why keep only one person to guard your supersecret creep-house? Either Lazlo is way too overconfident or way too crazy... Probably both.’, you thought, wheels turning in your head, hoping to make sense of the situation. As you went down, you could catch a faint sound of music. ‘Is that Opera?! Well at least it fits his M.O.’

The end of the stairwell opened into a large room. You hid behind one of wooden crates as your mind swiftly accessed the grim ambience; Pyg was sharpening his knife swaying along with opera music playing in the background but Jason was nowhere to be found. Your breath hitched and your blood ran cold, it felt as if the world around you was spinning.

‘What if... what if it’s too late’  Crouching down on the ground with your back to the crate your took in several deep breaths to calm your racing heart. You couldn’t think like that, not when you’re so close. You wiped the stray tear which escaped the tightness of your cowl and had trailed down your cheek. You tried to focus instead of jumping to conclusions.

You frowned upon noticing something odd on the wall in front of you, placing your palms on it, you gave it a slight push. To your surprise it paved way for an attached corridor which clearly didn’t come up in the schematics Oracle told you about. You slipped into the corridor, making sure that nobody saw you. Your feet froze for a slight second on the sight you were met with; cages like prison cells lined up in a row with people inside of them.

“The people who went missing”, you whispered to yourself, still reeling in the shock of it all. Upon hearing a familiar groan you sprinted across the pathway to the source, eyes scanning every inch of the person you found, the person you were here to rescue. You fumbled with the lock for a while, muttering curses under your breath until it clicked open. You dashed to his side and took a batarang out to cut the binds he was in.

“Jay if you die on me again, I swear I will kill you.”

“Been there, done that princess and honestly not a fan of it”, Jason croaked out, his reply came out weaker and voice barely above a whisper. It made your heart clench in a way it hasn’t in a long, long time. You lifted your head up, you gave him a soft smile, gently brushing off the matted hair on his forehead, 

“Jason I..”

‘Just tell him you love him you coward, It’s really not that hard’

“Jason I’m glad you’re okay”, you blurted out in way which was far from normal but he seemed way too tired to noticed. 

‘COWARD’

“How did you get free?”, he inquired, thankfully interrupting your internal yelling.

“I didn’t? I literally just walked in here to get you out.”

“But I thought-”, Jason looked utterly confused as he rubbed his wrists to ease the pain caused by the rope.

“Well long story short. You got captured. I was saved by Harley and Ivy, had a nice chat with them, and then I might have been responsible for Batman’s high blood pressure, and then I emotionally blackmailed Nightwing into giving me your location and then here I am”

“Wha...Yeah I will just pretend I totally understand whatever the hell you just said.”, Jason sighed, he tried to stand up but his feet wobbled and if it wasn’t for you catching him on time h would’ve staggered to the ground.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Mmhmm”, he hummed lightly leaning his weight on you. “Just a little dizzy, probably from the dehydration, It could also be because of the blood loss from the stab wound I got”

“The WHAT?!”, you looked at him like he was crazy.  

“Oh yeah I think I kinda forgot to tell you that the creepy dude tried to cut me open but my armor got in the way so he stabbed me instead and went away saying he had to sharpen his knife or something like that”, he started to slur and you knew you had to get him back to the cave as quickly as possible. You helped him get up on his feet, slinging one of his arms over your shoulders and wrapping one of your arms around his waist.

“Oh my God! Jay, you don’t just bring this sort of thing up in casual conversation!”, you shook your head and started taking small steps with him towards the way you came from. Suddenly a loud crash was heard followed by a couple of screams making the both of you share a nervous glance.

“What was that?”

“Only one way to find out”, you said as you walked through the door back into the large room. 

It was pure chaos, more like a free-for-all. Nightwing jogged up to you. 

“We did say we were 10 minutes out didn’t we?”, he gave you a bright smile and swung Jason’s free arm over his shoulder to help you support him better.

“Good, now since you are here, hold him”, you shifted Jason’s weight towards Dick.

“Hey-”

“Don’t even”, he glared daggers at his elder brother, “What are you even doing? I feel like a baby being passed around”

You ignored Jason’s whining in the background and fixed your gaze on the one person in the room who would soon face your wrath. The rest had already cleared up the goons and Pyg was the only one left. You narrowed your eyes and cracked your knuckles, making your way over to him.

By the time you reached Pyg he was already backing away from Batman and one murderous looking Robin, turning around he tried to make a run for it but was ultimately met with your fist, a sickening crack was heard and no one was quite sure whether it was from his mask, his jaw or both. Pyg was out cold and you shrugged at the duo in front of you while Dick and Jason made their way over.

“Remind me never to get on her bad side ever again.”, Jason whispered as both the boys looked completely terrified of you. You walked over to Bruce and held out your hand. He didn’t seem to catch the drift, for being the world’s greatest detective, he was quite dumb sometimes.

“The keys to the batmobile, unless you want Mr. surprise-I-got-stabbed over here to bleed out.”

After placing Jason into the passenger seat you hopped into the driving one. 

“Also there are people in the back, you know, the missing ones, so good luck with the clean up I guess.”, you called out before before closing the hood of the batmobile. 

You were on the road heading straight for the cave when you realized Jason wasn’t answering your questions anymore.

“Jason?”, you stole a glance at him and he was as pale as a ghost, “Shit!”, you yelled as you jammed your foot on the accelerator. 

•°•°

Jason woke up to the dull beeping of multiple monitors and by the looks of the place, he concluded he was in fact in the batcave. As he regained some control over his senses, he saw you sitting on a chair beside his bed. You were sound asleep but he could see worry etched on your face even in your slumber. Looking at you, Jason wished he had the courage to say what his heart felt instead he just went ahead taking your hand in his, giving it a little squeeze. You stirred awake at that.

“Hey! You’re up!”, you stood up abruptly and hugged him tightly. To him it felt as if you were actually afraid of what might happen if you let go of him.

“I told you I don’t do dying anymore. It sucks.”

You finally pulled away from him, a smile tugging at your lips. Jason glanced at your hand, taking it in his once again, he ran his thumb over your bruised knuckles.

“I knew you had a mean right hook, guess I just forgot how mean”, Jason said smirking at you. You didn’t pull away from him as he had expected in his head instead you just scoffed at the statement. 

“The next time you forget that, allow me to give you a reminder by demonstration Bird-Brain”, you called him by the name you often used back then. At first it was to annoy your very annoying best friend but then it stuck around but hadn’t used that nickname ever since he came back. You both realized that. A silence fell over the once playful conversation, his eyes found the celling and yours found your lap. After a while you cleared you throat to get his attention and he looked at you, his expressions were borderline unreadable.

“Jason I-I should go now, but don't worry I’ll get Alfred back here”, You got up and moved towards the door of the med-bay, scrunching your eyes shut you released a shaky breath.

‘It’s now or never (Y/N)’ 

“Jason when you get better, there is this place I have been meaning to take you to, with me of course.”

“Sure I’ll go”

“So tomorrow sounds good?”

“Tomorrow sounds good”, he repeated after you breaking into a grin. Your cheeks flushed and you had to take a sharp turn to hide the blush on your face. You mentally smacked yourself for behaving like a teen asking her crush out on a date for the first time. 

•°•°

The next night Jason met you on the roof of the Wayne tower.

“Please tell me this isn’t the place you wanted to see with me”, he chuckled behind you and you turned around to give him a quick hug.

“It’s not that bad of a place, plus I can throw you off here too if you get on my nerves”, you laughed at his faux scandalised face.

“You wound me”

“In case you forgot you are already wounded, drama queen, plus its your lucky day, this is not where we will be spending our evening. Just follow me and don’t get lost on the way”, you winked and jumped off the edge, him following the suit.

When you both reached the place you had in mind, the place Jason cherished when he was Robin, the expression on his face was priceless. It was like a mixture of awe and surprise with a hint of sadness.

“How did you find out about this?”, Jason inquired after a while of reminiscing. 

“Gee how indeed, ‘cause it cannot be the fact that I am detective who’s life is influenced by at least a dozen detectives and it’s most definitely not the fact that for me, you aren’t that difficult to figure out”

“Touché”

Jason chuckled at your usual playful sarcasm, his eyes were twinkling with something which felt more than just momental adoration and you couldn’t help but crack a small smile of your own. You made your way over to him, looking at the visible skyline for a brief moment, Jason watched as you sat down on the ledge with your legs dangling off, patting the space beside you gestured him to join you. 

“I have a feeling we’re gonna be here for a while, so might as well sit down and get comfortable”, you shrugged as he nodded and sat down beside you, placing his elbow on his bent knee. You both enjoyed the few minutes of comfortable silence, watching cars pass by below and the moon lit starry sky above.

“I am starting to see why you liked it here”

“Yeah...”

“Alfred told me”

“Huh?”, Jason looked at you dumbfounded, trying to process your words.

“After you...were gone, Alfred told me, he told me that this was your happy place, though I still can’t believe you had a favorite gargoyle”, stifling a laugh you somehow managed to continue, “Anyway so as I saying, ever since I found out about it, I used to come here every night when I got free from patrol, come to think of it I still do, sometimes”

You could feel his heavy gaze boring into you making you immediately regret bringing up this conversation. 

“Why?”, he finally inquired. You didn’t know whether to feel relived or be tense, but it was now or never, releasing a shallow breath you glanced at him, words flowing out on their own accord. 

“Even back then I knew everyone dies at some point and all we can do is try and find some meaning in it, in the memories they leave behind and I guess me wanting to be here, it was a part of me trying to do that and it made me feel somewhat connected to you so I kept doing it; Coming here, spending any time I could spare and leaving before the crack of dawn and before I knew it, it had become a habit.”

“So you did miss me”, he gave you a sad smile and wrapped his hand around your shoulder, giving you a light squeeze. 

“Of course I did you dumbass, I was best friend.”, you gave him a nudge and leaned your cheek on his chest, sighing deeply.

“The reason I avoided you after you came back was because I was scared”, you whispered, hoping it would sound less real that way. Jason pulled back a bit to take in your features and you could hear the strain in his voice, a hint of sadness in it.

“Scared of me?”

“Jason I wasn’t scared of you, I can never be, I was scared for you. I was afraid of losing you again. Every time you come back I lose you all over again and I am honestly tired of it and I thought that maybe if I kept my distance I--”

“Won’t get hurt again?”

“Yeah, something like that”

A moment passed where no one spoke anything, both of you running the scenarios of what might happen next in your brains. An idea clicked in your head and you abruptly got to your feet startling Jason in the process. Offering him your hand and a sheepish smile, you got him to his feet.

“I am tired of being scared Jason. I want this. I want us and for that I am willing to take a chance, are you?”, he stepped closer to you, his scent invading your senses.  

“For you (Y/N), anything. You should know that by now, plus I feel the same way, I have for a while now”, Jason breathed out as he pulled you in for a deep kiss leaving you dizzy for a while after you pulled away for air. Placing your foreheads together, you found yourselves grinning like idiots yet again in the two successive nights. Jason’s stomach growled, sending you into a fit of laughter.

“Hungry?”

“You really gotta ask?”, raising an eyebrow, he tried to look offended but ultimately melted against you as you pressed your lips on his for a brief moment.

“I know a place”, you murmured, lips brushing against his and before he could register what was happening you already had a grapnel gun in your hands, smirking as you jumped off the ledge.

“Last one there is a rotten egg hoodie!!”

“Hey! But I don’t even know where it is!”

“Not my fault Bird-Brain!”

Jason jumped on after you, smiling to himself. Both of you were thinking the same thing ‘maybe this was finally the start of a new chapter; something new, something scary and something beautiful altogether’

°•°•°•°•

Tags: @ladyperceval

[magnumdays]

Magnum PI 3.06 - The Day Danger Walked In

Where do I even begin with this episode?

Once more this was just an overall enjoyable episode with all my favorite bits! Miggy, fun side plot for the guys, (though I missed the Ferrari and beautiful Hawaii aerial shots…)and once more a totally coincidental very dangerous situation because of mostly bad luck.

I think I’m going to start with the last one.

This episode features the second full episode of hostage-by situations we’ve gotten this season. What else have we had this season - 5 episodes in? Well, let’s see the two robbery/hostage episodes, Higgy being shot. A plane crash. Now Ethan getting shot. (Plus the weird stalker in the white SUV.) 3.04 was the only really case-like ‘normal’ episode we’ve had!

Everything is a bit higher stakes this season (we also got the Juliet/Ethan thing, suddenly giving us some emotional “danger”, making us wonder how this will impact Magnum and Higgins’ relationship.) Danger is around every coroner. So ride out a hurricane in peace? Nope, forget it!

And while I very much enjoy the higher stakes, it starts becoming a little unbelievable (what? A TV show being unbelievable?). But it’s more the coincidences of how things go from ‘bad’ to ‘OMG’ that sometimes get to me. How is it they can’t even go for a green card interview in peace? 10 minutes earlier of an appointment time, that episode would not have existed. Like being trapped in a storm isn’t enough, we gotta add armored car robbers! The probability of them picking La Marianna is just so small it annoys me a bit.

I do enjoy it more when Magnum and Higgins are on a case and that leads them into danger. Being shot or crashing a plane because you went out and looked for trouble makes sense (even if it’s very unbelievable too I know…) Danger just happening… it’s a little bit of lazy writing in my opinion. I mean wasn’t it enough that the storm warning came just as Ethan had arrived but not before they had time to leave on their date? That alone is a fairly big coincidence... 

I mean I still really enjoyed this episode. It wasn’t all hostage but a lot of stuff around it, and it was more of a backdrop. Something to cause problems that had to be solved by various people working together and thus showing off their dynamic and letting them interact (such as Ethan and Magnum with the gas + talk about Higgy, Magnum/Higgy/Ethan when he was shot, Kumu/ Shammy and even Ethan/Higgy a little.)

All the relationship stuff is really what this episode is all about. We got TC and Rick moments (with Thomas being a little bit of confidant) about trust and being partners, Ethan/Higgy/Magnum - how does Ethan fit in stuff, separate from that some Miggy feels and Juliet asking/hoping Thomas and Ethan if they can be friends because she thinks her and Ethan might get serious and just all around through-out the episode Juliet being quite worried about what Thomas thinks of her boyfriend. 

Yet while we got a lot of stuff going on (some quite coincidental), still it felt like just the right amount of everything. A bit of Ethan, some jealous Magnum, not too much case, just enough fun and games and crazy to make it never boring and some good heart to heart feel-y moments to give some pay off towards the end. It’s like they finally found their groove this season and almost every episode just feels like it’s really working on all levels!

My fave moments

I had some favorite moments; Gordon going “She really wanted that power saw” about Juliet when they were putting up boards at the beginning. She really did and it was so fun. I love when Higgy doesn't get what she wants and is a bit salt-y with someone other than Thomas...

Magnum being all “It’s like me dating a client!” Um hello excuse me but did you not ask out Mitten’s the cat’s owner? (Well her mom, if we’re being technical?) Sure it’s totally about Ethan having been Higgy’s doctor…

Juliet being all “Thomas likes you fine” but then becoming suddenly super observant of how he acts and then realizing he’s not fine with it? Going so far as to actually start on a “Ethan seems to think-” before Magnum interrupts with dead security guard photos.

Magnum actually admitting he’s not sure how to share Higgy with Ethan...

Rick being tormented by the fact that he lied to TC.

Juliet drying off Ethan and handing Magnum a towel and the way he smiles and then looks so forlorn! It’s just so...I don’t know but it gives me feels and I need gifs.

The last two minutes are my favorite. From Higgy showing up, Rick sending her over to paint with Magnum, her being all ‘looks fine’ ‘liar’, her thanking him for being nice but admitting “it was really stupid” about Ethan rushing in and getting shot. That was just amazing. 

That whole end bit was just so pure and sweet and my poor baby face when she’s all “it’s pretty serious, I want you guys to be friends”. Someone hug him.

(Also who taught you how to paint? You’re just painting in the same spot over and over again!! I know it’s about them having a moment but I’m low-key annoyed on Rick’s behalf on them both sucking at it!)

Speaking of annoyed… (Ethan rant-ish bits up) 

I’m not sure how I feel about Ethan being shot and all of them being locked in a freezer (I know would have preferred a Magnum/Higgy locked in a freezer and it’s very cold story-line...but you know, we take what we can get). Him being shot felt very random and I think we almost could have just done without it? Like he could have been smacked with a gun and had a head wound. I mean I guess the only reason for him getting shot in the leg is to make sure Juliet doesn't end up going ice skating with him… (Or to make sure we don’t have to see him while he’s getting his leg back in working order... )

What was that anyways?

Ethan plans on taking Higgy ice skating and we learn that Juliet has apparently never been from Magnum. A) Why do I love that Magnum just know this, like they talked about it? B) What respectable English person has never been ice skating? C) If Ethan knew she’d never been, why would he suggest it? Unless she asked to go. I mean I get maybe he was hoping for a cute ‘trust me, I won’t let you fall’ sort of situation, but he’s been on a number of dates with Higgy by now. He must know how she hates being well... not the best at something (everything...) Going skating was not really a good plan.

Also who the heck goes ice skating in HAWAII!!! I mean come on Ethan! You’re a doctor, you’re supposed to be smart. Why not have a romantic beach picnic, much better chances of something fun going down… I’m just saying. 

Anyways, I honestly don’t know what to feel about Ethan. I like that he seems nice and not threatened by Magnum (well, for now, spend another few hours with them, you might not be so chill…) and sees that working with him is important to Juliet. Frankly I just hope things get serious with them, but in the end Juliet realizes he’s not for her and just breaks up with him because she wants to. Not because he’s a bad guy working for evil SUV guy or because does something awful. Just because while she likes him, she doesn't feel like he’s the one. Since this season seems to be drama-drama I think something dramatic is bound to happen… but I guess we’ll see!

In Conclusion

I loved it, but was a bit annoyed at some parts. I feel like everything is just flowing so well this season and I can’t wait to see how the big bad turns out and the Ethan thing and La Marianna and just all around I’m more invested in everything.

Next week’s episode looks very exciting! I’m excited for some dramatic (yet we took this case so it’s not that unrealistic) stuff going down. Kidnappings and Miggy freaking out when ‘tragedy occurs’ (and maybe having some moments). I must say as much as I enjoyed this end scene last week’s Miggy end moment (3.04( beats this one’s by just a tiny amount... 

[muwur]

haikyuu x otome: masterlist | rules

prologue

» synopsis:   a haikyuu x reader au where you, the player, are bound for university in a metropolis several hours away from home. hope and excitement are replaced with dread as you come to realize that juggling life as a student and a part-time employee takes a toll. from demanding classes to a ruthless manager, life just can’t seem to give you a break. that is, until you meet a certain someone who reminds you how to live and follow your dreams. somehow, when you’re with them, time stands still. maybe things are finally starting to look up. if only you could stay in those moments for just a little longer.

» gn reader

» ngl came out longer than i expected but thats ok LMAO,, them otome intros be unnecessarily long too mb; 3.1k words

» note: if u rllyy want u can kinda skip or just skim this, the gist is that you move in n meet like 3 ppl LOL

The train hummed as it zoomed through the landscape, leaving behind the familiar people, sights, sounds, and smells. Yawning, you rubbed your nap away from weary eyes and peered out the window. Just hours ago you had waved a bittersweet farewell to your town, friends, and family, who woke at the crack of dawn to send you off with tight hugs and teary-eyed wishes of good luck. 

Your heart lurched at the memory. You’d miss them. In an effort to part happily, you promised to come back for the holidays, call often, and hook your friends up with any cute people you just knew would match them. Glancing down at your phone, you smiled at the excited text messages from your friends. Your fingers tapped away at the keyboard in response.

‘Just woke up from my nap. I think I’m here!’

Outside, buildings scraped the clouds and their windows shined in the light of the afternoon sun. Cars honked, bikes swerved, crowds bustled. On one end of the block, a man on a ladder was painting a sign for his store, while on the other end , a street performer danced energetically in her black shoes. Smoke emitted from a food vendor’s stand, where a man skillfully flipped some meat and vegetables on a stove, even throwing his spatula into the air to entertain his customers. The city was alive. 

Stepping off the train, you clutched your belongings and felt a sudden rush of exhilaration. You were finally here. You intended to take a deep breath, in order to take in your first taste of this city’s air, only to stop halfway in a short hacking fit to expel train exhaust from your lungs. 

‘That was pleasant,’ you grumbled to yourself, still coughing as you made your way off the platform towards the street. Luckily, Lyft existed. And it was cheaper here! Within minutes of your order, a black Toyota pulled up in front of you. The driver smiled and stepped out of the car, their wavy brown hair bouncing against their shoulders. “Let me help you with those,” they smiled as they offered to take your bags and put them in the trunk. 

“Oh, thank you so much!” What a kind person, you thought as you opened the backseat of the car. Ooh.

On second thought, maybe you were too optimistic. Who knew a 10 minute ride could feel so long? It seemed at least twice that much when you were squished in the backseat with some handsy couple. Just your luck, someone was already occupying the passenger seat. Oh well, a minor inconvenience in the name of saving money. All you could do was shift closer to the door, fix your gaze outside the window, and try to ignore the strange purrs coming from your seatmates. A familiar building caught your eye and you let out a sigh of relief when the car came to a stop. You thanked your driver as you stepped out and pulled your bags out of the trunk. Looking back and forth from your phone to the townhouse before you, you had to admit the real thing looked a little more worn down than how it was advertised, but you couldn’t blame them. I mean, your pictures on instagram aren’t exactly the everyday representation of yourself, either.

Aged wood creaked as you hoisted your bags up the front steps. You tapped  your knuckles three times against the brown door and rang the buzzer to the landlord’s office. 

“Hello? Miss Q?” you asked, hoping the landlord you’ve been contacting for the last two months would answer. “It’s me, y/n, I let you know I’d be coming in today.”

No answer. 15 minutes, a few text messages, and a phone call later, still no response. You groaned. Were you at the right place? Looking back at the address of the building and your location, you were sure this was it. Did Miss Q happen to be out? Or was she napping and just happened to be a heavy sleeper? Maybe her phone died. Whatever the reason, you were stuck out here for the meantime. Shrugging it off, you took a seat on a dusty patio chair and started to scroll mindlessly through your phone to pass the time. Hopefully she’d reply soon. 

The screech of a vehicle coming to a stop caught your ear. You looked up to see that the mover’s van you ordered pulled up across the street. Well, at least your things arrived. You stood up and waved to the man driving the vehicle. Making your way to greet and thank him, you helped him unload your things and set them down on the free space in front of the complex, making sure to keep the pathways clear. Placing down the last of the things onto the ground, you wiped the sweat off your brow, tipped the man, and watched him leave.

20 minutes of that and still you remained stuck outside. The late summer sun was beginning to get unbearably warm. Sitting amongst your pile of things, you couldn’t help but groan inwardly at the thought of all the unpacking you had to do. On top of that, classes begin in a week, and you needed to search for a job as soon as possible to help pay the bills. 

“Erm, hello? Are you y/n l/n, by any chance?” a gentle voice asked.

Lost in your thoughts, you failed to notice anyone had approached you. He was a fairly tall boy with dark hair half pulled back into a messy bun. Freckles adorned his face, complemented by his soft brown eyes and warm smile. He wore a pair of white shoes, slightly distressed lightwash jeans that were rolled up at the bottom, and a loose fitting, olive button up half tucked into his jeans. In his arms was a brown paper bag with a loaf of bread peeking out. 

(I STAN LONG HAIRED/HAIRBUN YAMS SO HARD SO HE’S GONNA HAVE IT OK)

“Yeah, I am! Do you live here?” you responded eagerly, getting up to your feet.

He nodded with a smile. “I do! Apparently Miss Q’s sick and staying at her daughter’s place for now, so her daughter messaged me to help you get settled in. Let me put these groceries away and get your key.”

He disappeared into the townhouse, then returned a few moments later with a key dangling between his fingers. “Miss Q needs a better hiding spot for her spare office key. The plant pot is way too obvious. Anyways, I can show you to your room, now. I’ll help you carry your things up,” he offered.

“That would be great! Thanks again for all your help, otherwise I’d probably have been stuck out here all night,” you said, gently handing him a box to carry.

“Y-Yeah, no problem! Though, Tsukki might’ve let you in if he saw you out here, too. Oh, and my name’s Tadashi Yamaguchi, by the way. Some people call me Yams. It’s nice to meet you.” 

“It’s nice to meet you, too, Yams,” you huffed in amusement at his cute nickname. “Call me y/n.” Carrying some boxes, you followed Yamaguchi into the building. Luckily you were on the first floor, second door on the lefthand side. He fumbled with the key, searching for the keyhole before turning the unlocked knob and opening the door. 

Much like the outside, the interior of the place was also outdated. You both stood in front of the quaint living area connected to the kitchen. In the back, you could see the hallway leading to the bathroom and your single bedroom. The plain, white walls of the room were illuminated by daylight coming in from the windows on the rightmost wall. You could overlook the worn couch and scuffed dining table, though, considering the place was fully furnished and leased at a great price. Miss Q had even told you both the kitchen and bathroom had actually been remodeled recently. 

Going back and forth to take your belongings inside, you thought to get to know your new neighbor. “So, how long have you lived here?”

He pursed his lips in thought and stacked the box he was carrying on top of another one. “Mm, only since the start of summer, actually. My friend and I came here to start university, and one of his favorite museums also happens to be in this city. We come from about 2 hours north of here, though. What about you?”

You set down a particularly heavy bag onto the floor with a grunt. “I’m from a place several hours west of here. I came here for school, too! Are you going to Central University, by any chance?”

“Yeah, I am!” he responded with pleasant surprise and wide eyes. “I guess we’ll be seeing each other on campus, too. Remind me to show you the closest bus stop you can take to get there.” A soft smile formed on his lips.

After finally taking in all your belongings, you collapsed onto the couch in exhaustion. Your eyes flickered over to the brunette, whose chuckle you could hear from across the room. “Long day?” he asked, settling into a spot next to you. 

Groaning, you replied, “I’ve been up since 5 am to do some last minute packing and catch my train.”

“Yikes. Sounds early.”

“Tell me about it.”

A comfortable silence hung in the air for a few seconds. Curious, he piped up with another question. “So, what made you decide to move all the way out here?”

“Hmm,” you began. “Well, I wanted to settle into a new, unknown place, y’know? Explore the world a little more and see what it’s like out here. Be on my own for the first time.”

Yamaguchi nodded thoughtfully in understanding. “I get you. My best friend and I kinda came here for the same reasons. We wanted to expand our worlds a bit. I’ve only been here a few months, and already so much has happened. You’ll definitely get to explore and experience a lot in this city. Things are always busy around here...” he trailed off, checking a notification on his phone that just dinged with a new message. His brown gaze flickered back to you. “Ooh, would you like to have a drink with my friend and I at my place? I live in the room right across from here. You seem like you need a break.”

You could feel your lips curve upwards. “I’d really enjoy that, actually.”

Thus you found yourself in your new friend’s apartment, sinking comfortably into his black beanbag chair, a bottle of cold lemonade in your hand. Taking another refreshing swig, your eyes traveled over to the blonde seated next to Yams on their tan sofa. You could hardly feel welcome when the first words that came out of his mouth after seeing you was a disgruntled “you brought someone here?”, which made Yamaguchi smack the back of his friend’s head.

“They’re our new neighbor, Tsukki! Be more welcoming,” he chided with a roll of his eyes. “Y/n, this is Kei Tsukishima. Tsukki, this is y/n.”

He rubbed the back of his head and glared at Yamaguchi. The blonde sighed, extending a hand out towards you. “Tsukishima. Nice to meet you, I guess.”

“Erm,” you tried to smile, “nice to meet you, too, Tsukishima. Just call me y/n.”

‘How is someone as sweet as Yams best friends with this dude?’

He couldn’t be all bad, you reasoned. Maybe he was just having a bad day,,, or always having a bad day. Regardless, even if your first impression was kinda substandard and underwhelming, you hoped you’d get along. He seemed like the type to need to get to know someone before warming up to them. 

You set the empty bottle atop their maple coffee table. Two hours had creeped by, consisting mostly of lighthearted exchanges between you and Yamaguchi, with a brief, occasional response from Tsukishima. He spent most of the time flipping through the pages of a novel and lightly tapping its hardcover to the beat of whatever he was listening to on his headphones. Yamaguchi suggested getting delivery from a Thai place he liked a few blocks away, and even insisted on covering the cost for you. 

“No, you really don’t have to..! I appreciate the offer, though,” you pleaded.

He shook his head, smiling as he tapped away at postmates on his phone. “Don’t worry about it.” He logged in both your orders and nudged Tsukishima with his elbow. “What do you want?”

Pushing up his glasses, Tsukishima leaned over to look at his friend’s phone screen. A few moments passed before he pulled away and said, “Pad Kee Mao sounds good.”

30 minutes later and there was a ring at the front door. A voice on the buzzer sounded. “I have a delivery for, uh.. Tadashi!” 

“Looks like they’re here,” Yamaguchi said as he stood up. You followed him out to the main entrance. Behind the door was a boy with tousled orange hair and bright brown eyes, carrying a plastic bag filled with takeout boxes. “Here you go!” he exclaimed as he handed you the order. He peered at the brunette beside you, his face scrunching in thought before lightening up with clarity. “Hey, you were with the guy I crashed into the other day! I-Is he okay by the way? Sorry, I was in a really big rush...!”

Eyebrows shooting up in surprise and eyes widening with familiarity, Yamaguchi nodded, “Oh yeah, I remember that! Don’t worry, he’s alright, just bitter and annoyed. I’m glad you seem to be okay, as well.” 

The redhead scratched the back of his neck sheepishly and looked down at his scuffed shoes. “Ah, thanks! Um, is he around? I’d like to apologize for yesterday...”

Yamaguchi smiled. “I’ll go grab him,” he said briefly before heading back to his apartment. 

The delivery boy sighed with relief. “Man, I felt really bad about that yesterday...” he muttered. He looked back up, his eyes brightening when they met yours. “My name’s Shoyo Hinata! People usually call me Hinata.”

“I’m y/n, it’s nice to meet you,” you smiled, offering your hand. He shook hands with you a bit too vigorously, and you nearly dropped the food held in your other arm. “Are you new around here?” he asked.

“Hah, is it that obvious?” you joked.

“Nahh, just a wild guess. You’re just really refreshing, is all! Most of the people I meet seem burnt out, but I don’t blame them. We’ve all got busy lives. Talking to you is nice, though! I haven’t learned any customer’s names, well, since I started working! Then again, it’s only been two months... Anyways, where you from? I was born and raised here.”

If anything, you thought Hinata was the refreshing one. A tad talkative, but refreshing nonetheless. He effused a radiance that matched his vivid hair. “I’m from *insert place here*, a few hours west of here. I just arrived today!”

Before he could give you a response, however, you both heard footsteps approaching. You could recognize Tsukishima’s voice muttering a low “let’s get this over with” from behind you. Now standing at the doorframe, the blonde towered over Hinata. His countenance displayed obvious annoyance. However, he maintained his composure, pressed his finger against the bridge of his nose, and sighed out, “What do you want?”

Hinata bowed. “I’m sorry I crashed into you with my bike the other day! I was rushing to volleyball practice and I wasn’t looking. It was my fault.”

Eyes narrowing, Tsukishima allowed several moments of silence to achingly pass before letting out a small huff. “Fine. Apology accepted.” Shoving his hands in his pockets, he turned around to return to his room. “Watch where you’re going next time, idiot. You’d better hope you don’t run into me again.” A door shut.

‘That was quick.’

Hinata looked up to watch him leave and straightened his form again. Lips pursed and eyebrows furrowed, he crossed his arms across his chest. “Geez, what’s his deal?” Yamaguchi cast him an apologetic look. “Ah, he’s just like that. He appreciates the gesture, though.” 

A high-pitched ding caught your attention. “Ah, I gotta go make another delivery! It was nice to meet you all!” 

Quickly grabbing a bill out of your pocket, you stopped Hinata mid-step. “Wait! Here, please take this. Thanks for the food!”

He accepted the tip from your hands, looking back and forth between you and the money. “Wow, thank you so much! I really hope to see you around. Have a great night!” With a final smile and wave, he bounded off the porch steps towards his bike, hopped on, then disappeared down the street. 

After having dinner and exchanging contact information with Yamaguchi and Tsukishima, you thanked them for having you over and retired back to your room. Drained, you only had enough energy to make up your bed and unpack your bathroom essentials. You trudged into the bathroom. Looking into the mirror, weariness was evident in your dull gaze. ‘Ugh, I can’t wait to sleep,’ you thought as you turned the sink on. The cool water felt refreshing against your skin and livened your senses. You brushed your teeth before retreating to your bedroom and changing into a comfier pair of clothes. 

You checked the time on your phone. How was it only 11 PM? The darkness, coupled with your exhaustion, made it seem at least three hours ahead. You plugged the phone in to charge and set it down on the bedside table. ‘No need to set an alarm,’ you thought, ‘I just wanna sleep.’ 

You took a few minutes to stare at the dark ceiling overhead, thinking about all the new changes coming your way.  New faces, cool food, and exciting places. Hopefully you had some time these first few weeks to explore and familiarize yourself with the city. Excitement mixed with a prick of anxiety as you thought about how you could manage on your own. However, you had faith in your independence. You would be okay. Besides, there were friendly people out here like Yamaguchi, Hinata, and maybe Tsukishima who you could trust if you ever needed help.

It didn’t take long for you to drift off into a deep slumber. You lazily woke up the following morning, yawning with outstretched arms. ‘That was the best sleep I’ve had in ages,’ you thought as you sat up. It was half an hour before noon. The sun shone brightly through your windows, whose curtains were left undrawn. ‘Surprised that the light didn’t wake me up sooner.’ A loud honk made you jump in your seat. ‘Or the noise.’

You drew your legs over the side of the bed and took in the state of your room. Surrounded by stacked boxes and luggage, you were reminded what you came here for. Anticipation collected in your chest. This was the start of the life you’ve been waiting for the past few years. 

‘We’re gonna make the best of this, y/n.’

[melwritesstufff]

Hiya your Tim drake imagine was *chefs kiss* lovely and I was wondering if you'd do a Damian or Tim x reader where they introduce their so to the batfam and the reader is like drop dead gorgeous and the batfam spend the whole time asking reader tf their doing with him (if you don't feel like it das cool) :))

hi thank you so much for the request! I did this for Tim since I feel like I have a bit of a better understanding of his character than I do Damian. sorry this is also a bit shorter than expected, the end was a bit rushed.

Tim Drake x reader - Gorgeous

warnings - making out, flirting, a little bit of angst

word count - 3200

requested - yes

“Babe, how do I look?” I turned, showing my knee length red dress to my boyfriend. It was a simple look, not too basic to make me appear boring, but not too many accessories to make me seem snobby or obsessed with looks. I had planned the outfit weeks in advance of this event, yet I was still worrying my head off.

“You look amazing, as usual.” He responded.

It was just like any other ordinary day. Except that it wasn’t. Today was the day of the dinner. I mean the dinner. The dinner that all relationships have eventually. The terrifying dinner where you finally meet your lovers parents. In this case though, I think I have it worse than any other ordinary person. You see, my boyfriend is Tim Drake. Yes, the Tim Drake. Son of Bruce Wayne. And brother to… a whole lot of people.

I mean don’t get me wrong, I love Tim. A lot. I would do anything to make him happy, and if that means meeting his terrifying and rich family? Then so be it. I just hope I don’t screw anything up.

“Are you sure? I mean is it too casual? You said it wasn’t fancy but I don’t want to be the only one there in basic clothing… What if we show up and they’re all in suits! I mean, i can’t-” Tim interrupted me.

“Darling, you’re going to be just fine. They may seem intimidating but I promise you they’re going to love you. No need to worry.” He walked up to me, placing his right hand on the side of my cheek, caressing the skin with his thumb. He then scrunched his nose in what appeared to be.. concern? Worry? I wasn’t sure.

“Actually, scratch that thought. I’m the one who I should be worried. My brothers might steal you from me.” He turned away from me, his expression clearly displaying worry and fear.

“That’s nonsense, Timmy. I want to be with you, not any of your brothers.” Looking back I should have made a larger effort to cease his negative feelings and doubt, but I didn't know any better.

He looked at me, the worry disappearing from his eyes, almost completely. There was still a hint of it there, but I brushed it off as just nerves. We were both nervous. Just for different reasons.

“Yeah, alright babe.” He smiled at me. I smiled back. I turned to the door and grabbed by purse, slipping on my shoes simultaneously. I turned to Tim who was fixing his hair in the circular mirror hanging on the wall near the front door.

“You wanna head out? It’s almost time for the dinner.” He grabbed the keys, opening the front door for me, then doing the same when we reached the car. My cheeks heating up. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to how sweet Tim is.

I avoided his cocky smirk and as we both got seated, Tim started driving us to the mansion. Hopefully, this wouldn’t turn out as a disaster.

“Alright, let’s go.”

.

“Hello Master Drake. I presume this is the y/n I’ve heard so much about?” Tim and I arrived at the mansion door, only to find their butler, Alfred, already waiting for us out front with the door opened. We paused for a bit as Tim and Alfred conversed.

“Yup, this is her Alfred. Are Dick and them here yet?” Tim looked over Alfred’s shoulder to peak into the huge home. Curiously, I also tried to peak over the older man’s shoulder but saw nothing as Tim was in my way.

“Yes sir, they just arrived a few minutes ago. I presume you shall find them in the main room, probably breaking something I’ll have to clean up later.” I chucked a bit as Alfred made a subtly annoyed look. I felt obligated to say something, so I separated from Tim as he walked into the doorway, entering the hallway.

“Um, hello. Thank you for opening up the door for us.” Alfred smiled at my thanks. While it is his job as a butler, there’s no harm in saying thank you, right?

“It’s my pleasure, Miss l/n. And thank you for taking care of Master Drake. He has been significantly happier in recent times.” I blushed at the butler's words. I knew Tim didn’t always have the best habits but did I really have that much of a positive impact on him? Quite frankly though, it was nice hearing about Tim from his family members, and how he’s happy.

“Oh it’s no problem! I love Tim, I’m glad I could help.” I brushed a strand of hair away from my face and tucked it behind my ear.

“Y/n? Come on, you must be getting cold out there.” I turned at the sound of my boyfriend's voice, it was getting a bit chilly and I was only wearing a dress, no sweater or leggings.

“Oh, that’s my call, bye Alfred! I hope to talk to you more soon.” Alfred stepped aside, giving me access to walk through the open doorway. I turned back a bit, waving towards Alfred.

“Likewise, Miss l/n” I cringed a bit at the honorary title. I wasn’t a member of the family or household. The title ‘Miss l/n’ just didn’t feel appropriate or right.

“Oh do please call me y/n.” I waved off the butler, hoping he would respect my wishes.

“Likewise, Miss y/n” i huffed a bit at his stubbornness, but chuckled and walked deeper into the large place, the sound of Alfred closing the door behind me.

So far this has gone well, maybe I was worried for no reason.

.

“Wait, you’re Tim’s girlfriend? You?” I was suddenly bombarded by two older men and their abundance of questions as soon as I entered what I assumed to be the main living room. It was quite scary, to be completely honest. Not only were they Tim’s family but they were both very large men, clearly very fit.

“Ye-yeah. We’ve been together for about 4 months now.” I stuttered, stepping a few inches back as I tried to get myself some space away from the two men.

One was a bit more aggressive than the other, he had a lot of scars and seemed to be very flirtatious. He was the taller and more muscular out of the two, with aquamarine eyes. I assumed he was Jason, Tim mentioned a few times that he was a “stupid brute” with “stupid scars” after he arrived at home after what he said was an argument with Jason during patrol.

The other I assumed was Dick, he was a bit kinder, and seemed effortlessly flirtatious, unlike the other who was purposely trying to flirt with me. Dick, I’m guessing, had more greyish-blue toned eyes and had very dark hair. Regardless of how handsome both the brothers were, they were far from my type. Their strong flirting and comments on my appearance was, quite frankly, off putting.

“But.. why?” Jason propped his elbow against the wall they had backed me into.

“Uhm, what do you mean.. ‘why’?” I hesitantly answered. Slowly becoming less nervous and more annoyed.

“I mean, you’re gorgeous. And Tim’s.. well, Tim.” Dick stood to the right of me, leaning on the same wall Jason was propped up on. He chucked a bit.

“I.. don’t follow.” I raised an eyebrow in confusion, they were Tim’s brothers. They should know how amazing he is and should be supportive of his relationships, not trying to dissect how he got into the relationship.

“Princess, why date that nerd when you could be with me?” I turned to the left, Jason leaning down and getting a bit too close to comfort, at this point I saw Tim scoff a bit as he left the room. I frowned a bit but then was distracted as Dick pushed Jason back and got even closer than his younger brother.

“Or, instead of being with a nerd like Tim, or a total brute like Jason over here, you could be with me.. I’m a total gentleman.” I scoffed shuffled to the side a bit, averting close contact with the tall man.

“Well, I highly doubt that seeing as your name is literally Dick.” He looked taken back, and went from way to close to me, to leaning back against the wall. Muttering something about “Is my name that bad?” or something along those lines.

“Pft- she’s feisty. How’d you score a total 10 like her Tim?” Jason turned around only to see Tim was nowhere to be found. I noticed it too, but took the sudden silence as a chance to defend not only myself, but my boyfriend.

“And I’m perfectly happy with Tim, for your information. I have no need for dating anyone other than him. Especially not his brothers, adopted or otherwise.” The two looked taken back at my sudden lecture.

“Don’t you think it’s also a bit unethical and immoral to be flirting with your brother's girlfriend? I was so worried about impressing you all, but now that I see how immature you all are I see that there was no need for worry. You are all easily impressed children.”  The two looked embarrassed as they stepped back, both going to sit on the couch as the youngest chucked at them and their stupidity.

“Tt, maybe you’re ok…possibly s bit too good for Drake though.” I looked at the child who gave such a big attitude and he looked no older than 13, there was only one candidate for who he could have been.

“You must be Damian right? I've heard a lot about you. You can do some pretty impressive stuff, huh? I’ve been told you’re more than a bit mean though. I would greatly appreciate it if you stopped terrorizing my boyfriend.” I bent down a bit, to get more to his level. Height-wise and respect-wise.

“... I’ll think about it.” According to what I’ve heard from Tim, that was about the best response I could have gotten out of the little gremlin. He ‘tt’ed and looked away, his sky blue eyes holding a glint of what I saw as respect.

“Ok. Thanks.” I smiled and turned around, meeting the eyes of Alfred as he walked through another entry to the right of where I came in through.

“Hello again, Miss y/n.” He smiled at me

“Oh! Hello again Alfred!”

“I came in to announce that dinner is being served in the dining hall. I suggest you all hurry before the food gets cold.”

.

“So, y/n, how’d you end up so gorgeous? Were you just born so beautiful?”

Dinner had just ended. Everyone had stayed at the table, besides Mr. Wayne who couldn't make it due to a ‘business emergency’, and we all made small talk. Unfortunately, my mini speech earlier was not enough to drive the two oldest brothers from asking me odd questions and borderline flirting with me. This time Tim was sitting right next to me, looking more annoyed with each question. I tried my best to stay respectful though, as they are still Tim’s family.

“Oh uhm, thank’s Dick.. uh I-“ my response was cut off as Tim got up, grabbing my hand and dragging me away from the rest of his family.

“Let’s go, y/n” I looked at Tim’s face and he looked more upset than i had ever seen him.

“Wh- what? Tim, babe, where are we going?” While I was a bit grateful, there was still a part of me that felt a bit nervous about our sudden leaving and the impression it would have.

As I let Tim pull me, we entered an unfamiliar room. I assumed it was his as it smelled faintly of his cologne. He let go of my wrist and shut the door. Walking over to the bed in the middle of the room, sitting down and resting his head in his hands. I followed his steps and sat down next to him. The silence killed me. The words that he spoke after though killed me even more.

“... I mean, they’re right you know..” his voice was slightly muffled by his hands but i could still hear the crack in his voice.

“What?” I stared down at the hairs on his head, not being able to see his face.

“They’re right to ask why you’re with me,” he looked up at me, his eyes watery and lips slightly quivering. He was insecure. I should have realized it earlier when he got worried about his brothers stealing me from him. Or when his brothers actually tried to steal me from him and he just walked away. He continued as I was wallowed with guilt.

“You’re an amazing person, y/n. You’re smart and funny and are good with people. You’re naturally friendly and people are just drawn towards you. Not to mention you’re incredibly gorgeous. You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever met. But me? I’m none of those things. I’m not amazing like you, or any of my brothers. I’m not good with people and charming like Dick. I’m not brave and strong like Jason. I’m not incredibly skilled and widely faceted like Damian. I’m not even that good looking. You’re an amazing, wonderful person. I love you so much. I just.. I don't understand why you would reciprocate and stay with me. You could have so much better. You cou-“ i interrupted him before he started crying. There were tears in his eyes and I couldn’t take it any longer. I needed to tell him I love him and reassure him before his insecure thoughts broke the both of us.

“I’m going to stop you right there. I love you, Tim. I love you. Not Dick, not Jason, and certainly not Damian, I mean he’s a child, that’s gross. You are so much more than what you give yourself credit for. You may not be like your brothers, but you have your own strengths. You are the smartest person I know. And it’s bullshit that you say you're not charming or handsome, because you charmed me the second I saw you. You remember? How I got your order completely wrong because I wasn't paying attention when you ordered? Because you were just so fine that i was stunned?” He chucked a bit, gently grabbing and caressing my hand.

“You didn’t even make me coffee, you just put coffee beans in the cup and drizzled caramel syrup over it.” He softly chuckled.

I used my unoccupied hand to caress his cheek, wiping the tears from his eyes. Continuing my speech, I scooted closer towards him on the bed, our legs pressed against each other and our faces almost touching.

“Yeah, I’m not as perfect as you think. And that’s ok! We all have faults, Tim. We just have to find the people whose faults are worth looking past. And you’re that person for me, Tim. I love you so much. You’re smart, funny, not to mention handsome. You can solve an incredibly complex case in less than an hour. You can learn at an incredibly fast pace. You are incredible at the things you do. Hell, you’re even a vigilante! You go out every night and protect thousands of people! You have a huge abundance of skills. Who cares if Damian has ‘more’ skills or ‘better’ skills. I don’t. Because it’s you I want. Not Dick, not Jason, not anybody else. You’re an amazing person, more amazing than you think I am, and I’m willing to bet way more amazing than your brothers as well. I mean, who was the one who lifted Bruce up out of his depression when Dick hated him and Jason died? You. You did that. Who forgave me after I completely forgot how to make coffee the first time I met you. You. Who’s the one who’s dating me? You. You’re the one I want and the one I love. I honestly need you Tim. I don’t know where I’d be without you. I could never do better because there’s nobody better than you.” I pecked Tim on the lips for extra reassurance and leaned back a bit, looking into his eyes that were watering once more. Hopefully out of joy instead of sadness.

“... you really mean all that?” He spoke softly, voice still a bit weak and raspy from the crying. His eyes were red and puffy, and his lips were slightly swollen. It broke my heart to see him so upset.

“Of course Timmy, I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t.” I leaned in and kissed him, once again. This time, it lasted much longer than a simple peck.

It was sweet and soft. I could taste the tears that had run onto Tim’s lips, giving him a salty aftertaste. He deepened it, grabbing my waist and pulling me so close our torsos were touching. I could feel him smile into the kiss, and I’m sure he felt me do the same. Before we both ran out of breath, Tim broke off the kiss. This created a comfortable silence that followed, until he finally spoke.

“... thank you, y/n. I love you. I can’t express with words how much I adore and am amazed by everything you do, are, and stand for.” Our faces were still close and as he whispered these words i could feel his warm breath on my cheek.

“Can’t express it with words, huh? Well I guess you’ll just have to show me then huh.” I smirked and leaned back a bit, teasing the boy sitting across from me. He paused for a second, looking taken aback, until he shook it off and leaned closer to me.

“I guess so, huh, why don’t you come here so I can show you?“ In that moment, the both of us crashed into each other, turning the sweet moment into a flirtatious make out session.

.

“Well, now we have our answer. She’s perfect for him.” Dick looked at Jason as he spoke, nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, we’ll have to explain and apologize to both of them later but, it was worth it.” The two looked back into the room through the cracked open door. They both cringed and backed up a bit as they saw their brother completely making out with his girlfriend.

Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to spy on their brother... Maybe flirting with his girlfriend wasn’t the best idea either. No matter why they did it.

“Tt, you’re both dumbasses. You didn’t need to flirt with her to get her to prove her loyalty. There are other ways of doing it.” The youngest brother, Damian, popped up leaning on the wall opposite from Tim’s door. The two older brothers looked back at him in suspicion.

“Oh yeah, like what?” Damian raised his eyebrow and scoffed like the answer was so obvious.

“Put her in a high risk situation where she would have to risk her life to save him. That’s true dedication.” He said it as if it was nothing. The three boys all looked at each other in an awkward silence until Jason finally spoke up.

“.. you have issues, kid.”

[strawberrywritings]

First date.

A/N: Someone asked for a continuation of "Meeting” (linked down). I didn’t have in mind to continue it, initially, but a request is a request eheh ALSO, i decided to make reader a teacher cause why not🤓🤷🏼‍♀️ Fun fact: the ending is a true story, my boyfriend and i’s, to be specific haha and i thought, why not include it?🙈

Anyways, i’m talking too much, i’m sorry. I hope you enjoy💕 xx

Meeting / Masterlist

Once Angel had saved your number on his phone, he immediately wanted to text you… but he had no idea what to say. It had been clear that you were not a big fan of his pick up lines. Should he say a casual ‘hello’? Should ask you out already? He didn’t know, and for once he didn’t want to mess it up. He ended up googling “How to text a girl” while sitting at a table in the club house. EZ happened to have to pass behind him and he did a double take when he saw his brother’s screen.

“Please tell me you have no intention of following these instructions”, the younger brother had an exasperated look on his face, and Angel sighed, putting his phone on the table. “What should I say, then?”. “Just start with a hello! Fuck, Angel, that’s the basis”, EZ went on with what he had to do, leaving Angel alone with his phone again.

He clicked on your number, opening the messaging app and tying a simple “Hello”. Was it too dry? Did he have to add an emoji? Why was this shit so hard? After contemplating, he decided that “Hello 😘 it’s Angel” would do it. He sent the message, exited the app, blocked the screen and just sat there, staring at it, waiting. After a few minutes, your reply lit up his screen: “Hi! I see you got my number”. He did what EZ would do. “Yeah. Sorry for this morning, I didn’t mean to be rude with my pick up line”. Your next message read “Wanna try again?😉”.

What. The. Fuck. What was he supposed to say? He was still sitting at the table, his eyebrows furrowed as he thought what to reply, phone in hand. On your phone, you saw the “typing…”, then he was not typing. Then he was, and again he stopped. You chuckled to yourself, carrying on with what you were doing.

At the clubhouse, the other members entered the main room and spotted Angel, who was still in deep thought. “Everyone! – Bishop said, everyone’s attention on him – Angel is thinking, so brace yourselves: the outcome’s never good”, the president laughed, along with the others. Angel flipped them off and Coco got near him, “What’s going on?”, then his eyes noticed the open conversation on his friend’s phone. His eyebrows rose up and a grin appeared on his face, “Ain’t you gonna answer, hermano?”, Coco patted his shoulder, Angel’s gave never shifting from the object in front of him. “Yeah but I don’t know what to say”. “Just ask her out, man! It’s literally that simple”, his friend laughed. “Yeah, I guess it is”, he grabbed the phone in his hands and started carefully typing his reply. Coco sat down next to him and opened the beer EZ had brought him.

“I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me sometimes”, he pressed ‘send’ and waited. After a painful 15 minutes, his phone buzzed, and he scrambled to open the notification. “I’d love to, make sure my car is fixed cause this time I’m driving 😁”. You did it, you left him stunned, again. You had him hooked and you didn’t even know it; he definitely had to know more of you. That night, he found himself thinking of you, and the for the first time in a while he wasn’t thinking about a woman in a sexual way.

You had agreed on a time and place for the date, Thursday night at 7. Angel was thankful he didn’t have a shift at the scrapyard that afternoon, because he was obsessing over what he should wear. A shirt? And a pair of jeans? Should he bring flowers? He talked his brother’s ear off with all these questions and thank god EZ was there, because his older brother was a lost cause. “Wear a clean shirt, jeans are fine if she told you to dress casual. And she might appreciate the flowers”, he said.

He showed up 15 minutes earlier to the address he had brought you back to a couple of days ago, parking his bike next to your car; when you opened the door, the first thing you noticed were the flowers, and a small smile spread over your face as you looked at him. “Hello”, your voice was calm and cheerful at the same time. He smiled and tilted the flowers towards you, pink tulips. “These are for you, I hope you like them”. “They’re beautiful, thank you – you took the bouquet from his hands and smiled at him – come inside, I just have to put my shoes on and then we can leave”. He entered your house: small, warm, perfect for one person. He couldn’t help but notice small details, like the pictures in the living room, clothes sitting messily in the rooms, your flip flops by the door, the mug on the counter, random papers on the coffee table and sofa. While he was looking around, you had put the flowers in the closest thing you had to a vase, setting it on the kitchen table and smiling at it. “They’re wonderful”, Angel turned his head as he heard your voice and nodded, “You’re welcome”.

“Ready to go?”, you asked as you put on your shoes, and he now was able to get a good look at you, you were wearing a blouse, jeans and a pair of trainers. You looked good, but you were slyer than him, because you had checked him out without getting noticed. Angel nodded and opened the door for you, “After you”. You smiled as you got out of your apartment and into your car, in which Angel had to adjust the passenger seat as he didn’t fit, you both laughing at the scene. The car ride was filled with small talk, you thanked him again for fixing your car, all smiles, and Angel was painfully aware of how clammy his hands were. He was supposed to be the one that knew how to get a woman, wasn’t he? Why was he so nervous?

When you arrived at the restaurant, it was a small place, probably a family business, that served traditional Mexican food. He complimented your outfit to break the ice and you replied that you loved the shirt he was wearing, it was white, looked soft and he wore it with his sleeves rolled up. It was definitely a good look on him. He noted how he smelled like his cologne and cigarette, and you smelled like flowers, fresh, sweet but not nauseating.

“You left your kutte at home?”, you smiled over the menu in your hands, your eyes drifting briefly to his chest. He chuckled and smiled, “Yeah, figured I could ditch it for the night”, you smiled and gave your orders when the waiter came to the table. Angel surprised even himself when he spoke first, “So what do you do in your life?”, he hoped his question didn’t sound weird cause who words it like that. You smiled, big and bright and sat a little straighter, “I am a teacher”. Angel could hear the pride in your voice and he could see the glint in your eyes, he smiled too: your smile was contagious. “Really? What grade?”. “Middle school”. Angel low whistled and put his elbows on the table. “You must have a shit ton of patience, then”, he smiled and you laughed, shrugging your shoulders. “Sometimes, yeah”. You started talking about teaching and the kids you had in your classes, how much you like preparing the classes, and you soon realized you were monopolizing the conversations. You stopped abruptly and looked at him, a sorrowful expression on your face. “I’m sorry, I’m ranting, you probably wanted me to stop 10 minutes ago”. You gave a nervous chuckle and he reached his hand across the table, putting it on top of yours and smiling, “It’s alright, I love your voice”. You felt your ears get hot and smiled at him, resting you head on the palm of your hand.

“And what do you do, other than working at the scrapyard?”, he told you about the MC (well, the legal parts of it, at least), proudly telling you he was El Secretario, he told you about the carnicería his father owned, he talked about his brother, his friends, funny anecdotes from his life with the club. The food came when he was still talking, and you took a moment to watch his face: his beard, his lips, his nose, how his hair was definitely more styled than the day you met, and his warm brown eyes. “And then we got there- what?”, he stopped talking as soon as he saw the way you were looking at him. You finished your bite and smiled, shaking your head slightly, “Nothing, I love your voice”, you mimicked his words from before and he smiled, both of you continuing to eat and have fun throughout the rest of the night.

When you asked for the check, you and Angel bantered about who was going to pay. “Angel Reyes, if we’re not gonna split the check, you’re not getting a second date”, you reached for the piece of paper in his hand and he withdrew it, a grin on his face. “You want a second date?”, your answer came out in stutters, and he smiled even more at your sudden shyness. “Start thinking ‘bout where you wanna go for our second date, querida”, he let his hand come closer to you and you snatched the paper from his hand, not to show him how the nickname had affected you, your face and neck were hot, you needed some air.

After paying, you decided to go straight home. “I wish I could stay more, but I have an early shift at the scrapyard tomorrow”. You nodded and smiled at him, “It’s fine, I have work in the morning, too”. During the walk to your car, your hand brushed his a couple of times, none of you making a move to hold the other’s, though. The car ride was mostly silent and when you pulled up to your apartment, you smiled at him before climbing out of the vehicle.

Angel walked you to the entrance of the building. He really wanted to kiss you, but he didn’t know if he should. You turned around to face him, keys in hand, both of you looking into the other’s eyes. Everything was silent for a moment, you would’ve had to just extend your arm to touch him, and the tension was back. “Thank you for tonight, I had a great time”, you broke the silence; he simply nodded, too lost in your eyes to even form words. Your bodies were gravitating towards each other. “Can I see you again?”, his voice was hopeful and his hands ached to touch you, even just a hug. You smiled at him and nodded your head, “I’d really like to”.

His body was now almost touching yours, he had to just bend his head and he would be kissing you. You were still smiling when you slid the key in the lock and opened the door to your apartment building, “Good night, Angel”, your voice was soft as you slipped inside and just like that, he had missed his chance. Angel’s eyes widened, he still said ‘good night’, but he was left standing there, dumbfounded and without a kiss. Isn’t that how it goes in the movies? The date goes well, he takes her home and they kiss on the doorstep.

Angel stood there, staring at the now closed door, before he went to his bike and drove home, and for the next three days you were the only thing on his mind.

taglist: @scuzmunkie​ @gemini0410​ @woahitslucyylu​ @sadeyesgf​ @elcococruz​ @cocotheclown​ @thickemadame​ @hermankopusortizorsumshite​ @lady-pswrld​

[insomiaismygame]

In His Embrace

Gavin x Female Reader

Prompt: You were being stalked for months; your mental state slowly deteriorating. You felt yourself spiraling so you called the one person you could trust.

TW: Mentions of Stalking, Harassment, Paranoia, Panic Attacks

There it was, another “gift” left outside your apartment door. Your hairs stood on end; the ground beneath felt like it had shifted. With shaking hands you grabbed a tissue and opened the box. Tears started flowing as you looked down in horror at its contents. In it lay several pictures of you from today. Some were from this morning others from the afternoon. But there was one picture from this evening; it was of you entering your apartment building 10 minutes ago. Next to the picture was a note — the contents of which made your stomach drop.

You look lovely as usual. But you’d look even better in the dress I got you.

Yours eyes widened, your breathing became labored as you read the last line.

Look inside beautiful.

The box fell from your hands; you scrambled to get your keys from your purse. Fumbling with the lock your heart raced and as you opened the door your purse fell to the floor with a resounding thud. As you looked upon the red dress laying on the side of your couch you collapsed onto the floor. Legs folded under you the dread that you filled you made you feel heavier than lead. They were inside. They were inside your home. They could still be there.

When the thought crossed your mind you rushed out. Quickly slamming and locking the door; you gripped onto the knob resting your forehead on the door. You focused your gaze on the ground, trying to catch your breath. But the world was spinning, everything was blurring together. The tears that fell hot and heavy from your eyes didn’t help either. You ripped your hand away from the handle and gripped at the collar of your shirt. Breath that was once coming out in quick, small puffs elongated. With your free hand you took out your phone, squinting at the bright screen and started dialing.

You waited, and waited. Each ring felt like it was longer than the last. You felt another wave of trepidation was about to consume you, until you heard a click.

“Hello?,” Gavin answered groggily. His voice was the lifeboat in your turbulent sea of fear.

“G-Gavin. I’m a-at h-h-ome—,” you choked. No tears left to cry; your eyes burned.

“What’s wrong? Hey what happened?,” he pleaded.

You tried so hard to respond, but your sobs locked the words in your throat. Another fit of trembling took you over and you lost your grip on your phone. It fell on the floor and you with it. Gavin became panicked, you heard him yelling, almost screaming. You only heard every other word, however his last sentence was clear.

“Stay there, I’m coming to get you!”

~~~~~~~~

Within moments you heard frantic foot steps coming your way. You stiffened; slowly turning your head in their direction. Upon seeing who they belonged to your tensed muscles relaxed. Gavin swept you up in his arms; one hand between your shoulders, an arm under your knees. While he carried you off the ground, you tightly wrapped your arms around his neck. His hand came to your face giving soft caresses to your wet cheeks. You closed your eyes and steadied your breathing with every stroke. He whispered tender comforts in your ear, with each one you felt yourself unwind more.

“Please, talk to me, tell me what hap—,” he paused. His foot knocked against the box dragging his gaze down. His eyes widened, eyebrows and nose creasing, rage filled his being. A gust of wind radiated from him and knocked the box three doors down. His grip on you tightened only to contract as you winced in pain. He muttered several apologies; cursing himself.

The words spilled out of you, the dam holding them back shattering completely. You told him about the past few months, sharing your hell with him. Explaining to him how for the first couple of months you felt like you were being followed. Your paranoia grew with the first “gift” you received. The box was wrapped in glossy black paper and adorned with a red ribbon. It contained one picture of you at a coffee shop receiving your order. In addition to a note telling you how beautiful you were. The “gifts” kept coming for a week after that. Each one containing more pictures than the last and a single note praising you. After the third time you reported it to the police. They were of no use, telling you that since no fingerprints were found they would be hard to track. All they told you was to be careful and travel in crowded places. Simply put, they couldn’t spare any time trying to catch one stalker.

“They were inside Gavin. T-they p-put a dress on my couch. They might still be there,” your voiced lowered to a whisper.

Gavin set you down on your feet gently, and whipped out his gun. You heard the click of the safety switch and watched as he barged into your apartment. Gun steady in hand, raising it to eyelevel as he scoped your place. Starting in the kitchen, then the living room, and finally your bedroom. You cautiously followed behind him, stopping when he entered your bedroom. His face stern, his breathing as steady as his grip on his gun. His stance stiffened when he heard a thud in your bathroom. Swinging the door open, he swiftly brought his gun back up. Once he saw the cause of the noise was a shampoo bottle, he lowered and tucked away his gun. Letting his hands fall to his sides and his shoulders slump.

He turned to you and spotted the dress over your shoulder. His eyes lit up, an inferno burning in them as he looked at it with disgust. Every fiber of his being wanted to burn the damn thing and shove the ashes down the harassers throat. But his mentality as a police officer took over and he pulled gloves over his hands. He went to the kitchen and retrieved an empty trash bag and shoved the source of your dismay in. Then he quickly retrieved the box from outside and shoved in it. He disposed of his gloves and placed the bag on the counter. Gavin strode towards your trembling body and brought you into a gentle embrace. You could tell he had questions. Why didn’t you tell him, or how could you not were probably some. But he just stood there holding you, letting you sob into his chest.

“I’m gonna stay the night. I want to make sure you’re safe,” he stated. Gavin wasn’t giving you a choice, and to be honest you were completely fine with it. Being alone right now felt like a death sentence.

“Thank you,” you breathed.

He swept you up once more and carried you into your bedroom. He placed you on the bed and you turned to face him. You gave him a small smile, which quickly faded when he turned to leave.

“I’ll take th—,” he was interrupted by your hand grasping tightly onto his sleeve. The soft denim being pinched inbetween his fingers. He looked down at you inquisitively.

“My—my bed is big enough for two,” you said; answering his silent question. Averting your gaze from his to your nightstand.

Gavin looked down at you perplexed. He never expected you to ask him that. Given his past he always thought you were afraid of him. But here you were, imploring him to stay with you. You could see the gears turning in his head; trying to process the implications of your request.

“I-it’s not like that! Please I just—“ you hugged your sides and looked up at him with those big eyes he loved so much.

“—I want you to hold me. Hold me till I fall asleep, please. You can leave me once I’m asleep, I don’t care! But please I just want to held right now!” You screamed. Desperation clear on your face.

Seeing you like this broke his heart. You could see his eyes glistening with tears threatening to escape. He removed your hand and walked over to the other side of your bed. Gavin layed down next you, and flipped you over to face him. Your pain evident as he examined your face closely. Dark bags hung under your eyes, and your face was thinner. He brought you closer to him, with your head on his chest once more. You wrapped your arms around him, and buried yourself in him.

“I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

Wow you guys are really liking some of the fics and headcanons I’ve done. Even though there’s only 4 of them—5 if you count this one. I’m currently working on the second part of A Chance Encounter, so that should be out soon. If this piece gets over 50 notes I’ll write a second part. Thanks for all the support! You have no idea how much it means to me. I’m not the worst at writing, but I’m not the best. So I’ll continue to write and improve my skills!

[davecall93]

Teddy (1)

Theodore Pearson was moving across the nearly empty quad towards the apartment he shared with four friends when he heard a voice call from behind him.

“Pearson!”

He turned around. It was Coach K. He had taken a year’s worth of intermediate swimming and Coach K had been his coach for the spring semester. He was model handsome and his reputation preceded him. The K Family was a wealthy family that owned a significant amount of property in the college town. A family of overachievers, Coach K had had Olympic aspirations at one point. He had a hard body and had sort of steeliness that came off as arrogance, although he was friendly when approached.

Theodore was not steely. He was a goofy, but smart, college kid who had taken swimming in order to tighten up his junior year. While he had gotten in decent shape that year, he had partied and brunched his way through the last half of his senior year. He felt self-conscious seeing his coach, who did not appear on the hook up apps, but was said to have an active sex life. He had never, however, hooked up with a student to anyone’s knowledge.

“It’s good to see you, Pearson” Coach had sped up, and he was now walking next to Theodore.

“Nice to see you, Coach.”

Theodore smiled. Coach K made him nervous not only because of his good looks. Whenever he talked to Coach K, he felt strange. He was definitely attracted but it didn’t ever feel like a usual crush. Occasionally, he noticed that Coach K would ask him a personal question or two after class. But to say that Coach K was attracted to him would be…

“You’re graduating this semester, right?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“Staying here?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

The tone in the coach’s voice caught Theodore’s attention.

“That’s a shame.”

For a reason Theodore did not understand, he smiled and said, “I’m here until July, though. Just gonna hang.”

Coach K eyes widened slightly. “Well, then.” He smiled. “There’s still time.”

There was a small pause, and suddenly, Theodore felt a hand take his and squeeze it. A strange sensation shot up inside of him. He was quiet for a few seconds, and when he felt Coach K’s hand pulling out, he squeezed it back.

“Uh, yeah, I guess there is.”

The two stopped walking. They turned and faced each other. Coach K stared directly into Theo’s eyes. “Are you free later? Around 4?”

“Yeah.”

“Come meet me in my office. You remember where that is?”

“I do.”

“Meet me there around four.” Coach grinned.

“Sure thing, coach.”

Coach’s eyes looked Theodore over once, and then again. But as they passed the last time, they stopped on Theodore’s slight pudge. He frowned, pinched Theodore’s stomach, and then said, like he would to a lagging player, “We’ll to figure out what we’re gonna do about that.”

And Coach walked away.

****

At 4:06 PM, Theodore showed up in the doorway to coach’s office. It was a simple office: computer, some photos and another desk for someone else with their photos and computer. Coach was at his desk and talking on the phone. He pointed to the chair in front of his desk and as Theo moved toward it, he held up finger to his lips signaling him to be quiet. As he sat down, he noticed that Coach had an open box of powdered mini donettes on his desk.

“…Cannot wait. Wear something nice. Good-bye.” Coach looked at Theo and smiled. “Hello, Theo.”

“Hi, Coach.”

Theo had been weirded out by how Coach had left him. He wanted to see where this went, but he also did not want to find out he had signed up for fitness bootcamp.

“How was your afternoon?”

“Oh, you know. Returned some books. Read on the quad. How was yours, coach?”

“Busy. It was going to be a busy evening, too, but something came up.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I ran into a former student of mine.”

Theo smiled. “Oh.”

“I was very happy to see him.”

Theo blushed. “You like him, coach?”

“I do. I do.” Coach sat up and walked around the desk and behind Theo. “He’s very cute. Nice boy.” He put his hands on Theo’s shoulders and gave them a rub. “A very nice boy. But…”

Theo felt coach grab his hair and pull his head back.

“But my former student got fat.” Before Theo could respond, he watched Coach bend down and kiss him on the lips. He also felt two fingers tightly pinch the small layer of flab in his midsection.

Theo was very confused.

Coach pulled up and stared at Theo in the eyes again. “How do you think he got like.” Still holding, Theo’s head back, Coach reached over to the box of mini donettes and grabbed one. He held it over Theo’s face.

“I think it was like this.” He lowered the donate down to Theo’s lips and made a quick jerk on Theo’s hair. “Open. Up.” Theo, not knowing what to do, opened his mouth and felt Coach insert the donette. As he started to chew, Coach let go of his hair and whispered, “Good boy. Good, good boy.”

Coach returned to his seat and leaned back in his chair. Theo stared at him and chewed and eventually swallowed the donut. When he had finished, coach slid the box over to him.

“Don’t stop on my account, fatty,” said Coach. He kept staring at Theo and, realizing Coach wanted him to continue, he picked up a second donette and proceeded to eat it. After that he had a third and then a fourth. With the fourth donut, Coach’s smile had become very wide.

“Normally, I think a gentleman should take his date to a nice dinner for their first date,” said Coach. “But look at you.”

Theo looked down and saw he had gotten powdered sugar on his shirt.

***

On the way back to Coach’s house, they stopped at a local drive-thru. Coach took his order and got two of everything and added a milkshake. Theo’s eyes widened as he ordered. He felt shaken, but he also felt compelled to play along. When Coach finished ordering, he began to speak. “Coach, I don’t know— “

Coach grabbed him by the mouth and turned it towards him. He stared Theo in the eyes and said coldly, “I wasn’t speaking to you.” Theo felt himself turn a little hard.

He let go of Theo’s face, and when he turned back to pull forward, he put his hand gently on Theo’s leg and said, “Trust me. Everything is under control.” Theo put his hand on Coach’s.

“Including you,” said Coach, smiling.

***

Coach poured the last of the milkshake as Theo fought off the urge to throw up. He felt coaches hand rub his distended stomach and breathed heavily. “Oh god…” he moaned.

“I think he needs to lay down, doesn’t he?”

Theo nodded.

Coach helped him up and walked him through the large house, taking him to a master bedroom at the end of the upstairs hall. The place had a pleasing, slightly minimalist decor.  As he got into the bed, Theo noticed immediately that the bed was extremely comfortable. He closed his eyes, and he felt Coach crawl in next to him, his arms wrapping around his chest, above his stretched out stomach.

“Nice boy,” whispered Coach. “Good, good boy.”

Theo groaned in response.

“That was good wasn’t it?”

Theo groaned again.

“You’re all covered in food and shake,” said Coach. He sounded critical. “I guess I’ll have to clean up after you tomorrow.”

Theo groaned a third time.

“Fatty can’t help it, can he?”

“Coach…”

“Shut up and try to go sleep, Teddy. You gotta digest all that.”

Theo fell asleep a few minutes later.

***

“Teddy, wake up.”

“Mmmmhhh?”

“Wake up.”

“What time is it?”

“6 AM. I’m going to the gym.”

Teddy pushed himself up. He noticed he still felt somewhat bloated from the night before. Coach looked perky and awake in gym gear that highlighted his swimmer’s body. He was holding a carton in his hand.

“Drink this.”

Teddy took the carton and took a drink. It tasted like vanilla.

“Finish it, Teddy. I have places to be.”

Teddy braced himself and downed the drink.

“That’s a good boy. You can lay back down now.”

Teddy resettled, remembering that the bed was extremely comfortable.

“I’ll be at the gym and then running some errands. I should be back around 10. There’s a set of keys in the kitchen on a hook and a list of phone numbers, including my cell phone. If you get hungry, there’s some stuff in the fridge, but I’ll make you a proper breakfast when I get back.”

Oh god, thought Teddy.

“Call me if you need anything.”

“Okay.”

“Be a good boy.” Coach bent over and kissed Theo tenderly. He rubbed his forehead, and Theo smiled. “Go back to sleep.”

When Teddy woke up again at around 10:45, he wandered out into the hall. He could hear the sounds of public radio news and smell bacon. He then made his way to kitchen. Coach was an in an apron, looking recently showered, and whistling. There was a stack of waffles, what looked like a scramble, and bacon in the frying pan.

“Morning,” said Teddy, “smells delicious.”

“Well, look what woke up my little fatty.” Coach turned around and smiled at him. “I figured you would like this better than sharing my morning muesli.”

“That’s all for me?”

“You think I have this body cause I eat like you? Look at you. You’re spilling out of yourself.”

Theo crossed his arms across his stomach. It was still bulging from the night before.

“That’s cute that you think you can hide. Now, come give us a kiss.”

Theo uncrossed his arms and approached coach. Coach pulled him in, placing down the spatula for a moment, and pulled Theo in, kissing him firmly. He pinched Theo’s right side, causing Theo to jump back and exclaim, “Ow!”

“That’s for being lazy. I was up at 6 AM doing shit and now I’m making you a whole weekend brunch service just for you. Go upstairs and get back in bed. I have to wash the sheets anyway cause of you. I’ll be up soon.”

Theo, who had been confused since 4 PM the day before, paused and said, “Yes, Coach.”

As he turned and hesitated, taking a moment to get in the rest of the kitchen, which ended in a breakfast nook and a window that overlooked a grassy backyard.

Behind him, Coach turned and slapped him hard on the ass.

“Go!”

Theo stumbled forward and walked upstairs, rubbing his behind. He could hear Coach start whistling again as he walked up the stairs.

Some time later, Theo fell back into bed, having made an effort to eat as much as he could.

“Just a little more.”

“I can’t…”

“Fine then.” Coach pulled away the breakfast tray and laid it on the dresser. Theo fell back and closed his eyes. Even though he had just woken up, he felt he needed to close his eyes and take the day to sleep off the meal.

He was breathing shallowly, eyes closed, when suddenly, he felt a something sticky being poured over his mouth. He shot up and saw Coach holding the maple syrup bottle grinning eye to eye.

“For later, fatty.”

“Jesus Christ,” said Teddy as he attempted to wipe his face, realizing he was only spreading it onto his hands. “I need a towel.”

“Why? Enjoy yourself, fatty. I think you’ll find yourself delicious.”

***

Teddy laid in bed and digesting. At around 2:30, Coach came in and said, “Get up, Teddy.”

Teddy pushed the sheets off. He was naked and sticky from his meal that morning.

“Follow me,” said Coach, pointing to the hallway. Teddy followed him to the other end, where a room that seemed a cross between an office and guest room was. It connected to a bathroom.

“Go shower and then come to the bed.”

Teddy went in. There was a towel laid out and a number of high end toiletries. Like every room in the house, the place was immaculate.

As he showered, Teddy realized it had not been 24 hours since he had come to coach’s house. He had not checked his phone. And the two meals stuffing him until it hurt had been unlike any encounter he had ever had. He got out toweled off.

When he got out, he saw coach, with his swimmer’s body, in bed, naked. Teddy, also naked, crawled and was the little spoon.

“How is my Teddy?”

“Fine.”

“Must have been strange for you.”

“Ha! Yeah. I’ll say.”

“Normally, I’d wait longer, but since you might be moving away, this is my chance to make my pitch.”

“Your pitch?”

“I want you to be my boyfriend. Since you’re moving, I think it would be best if you just moved in now and gave it a try. I wanted it to see what it would be like.”

Teddy started laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

“My hot swimming coach kidnapping me and turning out to be a deranged feeder was not how I saw spending the week after graduation. I had pictured more pool parties.”

“Save it for your Tumblr,” said Coach, who pinched him very gently. “I’m serious. Even if you don’t like all the stuff, I want to give it a try. I’ve wanted to ever since you almost drowned doing basic circuits. I was like, ‘Somebody’s got to help that kid.’”

Teddy was smiling. “It takes a lot of coordination to move two legs and two arms at once.”

“You poor child,” Coach said as he petted him.

“You know, Coach. I don’t mind the other stuff.”

“Really?”

“I like being dominated. And I mean…I’ve always loved eating…” Teddy took coaches hand and rubbed his stomach with it. “And you seem to like this.”

“I do. I’m gonna make a little Teddy bear cub out of you.” Coach squeezed him. “A whole percentage of you is going to belong to me.”

Teddy wondered why this all felt all right.

“This is good,” said Coach. “I’m very controlling. I was a very spoiled rich kid. I don’t like it when people tell me ‘no’.”

“You’d probably lock me in a basement if I said ‘no.’”

“They would never find you.”

The two laid there for half an hour. Teddy dozed slightly and Coach rubbed the little belly that was now his. When he remembered he had to change the sheets in the master bedroom, he got up.

“Teddy?”

“Mmmmm?”

“Get up. I have to go clean up the mess in the bedroom. You can rest on the sofa downstairs.”

“Can I stay here?”

“No, this is the safe space. No shenanigans in the safe space. The safe word is ‘marmite’ because its disgusting and there can’t be any confusion.”

“You’re very thorough, Coach.”

“I’ll be down to deal with you soon.”

Teddy got up out of the bed. He relaxed on the sofa, looking at the large TV and admiring the sound system. “Sweet crib,” he said to Coach when Coach came down carrying a mass of sheets.

“Teddy, how did you know what a feeder was?”

“Tumblr is free website,” said Teddy. “You should check it out.”

Coach flipped him off as he passed.

When Coach came back, he was carrying a Boost VHC. “Open up, chubs,” and started to pour it into Teddy, who was stretching his mouth as wide as he could.

“See fatty, you love it. You can’t help yourself.”

***

I do like to eat, thought Teddy. He was by himself, staring curiously into the fridge, and had been grazing throughout the morning. Coach had spent the weekend “meal planning,” which involved making food that Teddy could eat throughout the week when he wasn’t there.

His phone vibrated and he pulled it out.

“Don’t stuff yourself this afternoon. Steaks for dinner on the patio tonight.”

Teddy smiled. In between insults, Coach was turning out to be a romantic. “Gotcha.” Teddy texted back. “I’ll skip the Boost, too.” He wanted to play with Coach. It was one o’clock. He decided to eat a sandwich now and maybe something else later. Coach hated dinners before 8 o’clock.

Teddy’s phone rang. It was Coach.

“Hello?”

“Go drink that thing right now and send me a video. If you don’t, when I’m through with you tomorrow, you’ll wish that was all I was asking you to drink.”

Coach hung up.

Teddy laughed and rolled his eyes. After he ate, he sent the film to

After dinner that night and a pleasurable round of sex, Teddy lay in bed as Coach rinsed off in the bathroom.

“Those steaks were great, Coach!”

No answer.

Coach came out carrying four rope. As Teddy watched and complied, he tied up his arms and legs to the bedposts. He walked out silently and ten minutes later returned with a blender full of liquid.

“I’ll teach you to talk back,” said Coach as he approached. 

Fuck me, thought Teddy, as he braced himself.

[bewaretheidesofmarchyall]

Good Omens AU Part Four

It’s back. Original is here

Wilbur didn't expect to care about Tommy, but he accepted it pretty quickly.

---------

There wasn't much to bring with him the day he moved to town. After all, it wasn't like he'd actually need to renovate the house. 

He stood on the curb in front of the remnants of the house that burned down a decade ago, suitcase in hand. A bit of a fixer-upper, but I can work with this. 

After checking to make sure there weren't any nosy neighbors watching, he reached out to the debris. 

The charred wood and scattered bricks twitched for a few seconds, before assuming the appearance of a lovely home. 

A doorbell, a porch, windows in a shade of cobalt blue, and above all else the distinct feeling that Wilbur's house (and by extension, Wilbur) had been around on the block for ages.

Even if the neighbors didn't know who he was or what he did, they would have to struggle to think of him as a stranger. 

And they had their own petty human lives, which didn't contain the time or energy to waste worrying about a charming new addition to the neighborhood.

Wilbur strolled into his perfectly average house, plans whirring in his head.

Showtime.

--------------

There were quite a few houses on the block, but Wilbur was only focusing on a group of three.

House #1: Tommy's home, three houses away. A simple house that contained the most important person in the world and his intimidating dad.

House #2: That Weird Guy's house, two houses away. Wilbur had no idea who That Weird Guy was, but he was apparently close friends with Tommy's dad, and even more intimidating. Wilbur wasn't sure why the kid was surrounded by people that made him worry for his life despite being immortal.

House #3: Schlatt's house, sadly next door. He didn't need additional proof that god hated him, but apparently they'd wanted to make it even clearer.

A week or so after he'd gotten settled into his new home, Wilbur decided to go outside to get a better look at the streetlamps and the night sky while trying to find his plan. 

He was feeling surprisingly positive about the whole thing. Soon, he'd be changing the fate of the world.

If this didn't get him remembered after it all, nothing else would.

A hacking cough came from the porch next door, reminding him that he wasn't the only supernatural being on the block. Wilbur took a breath, trying to be civil. 

Don't get distracted from the most important mission of your life because you want to murder a goat. Just walk on by. Just keep walking, and don't acknowledge his existence. You don't know him. 

However, his unwanted neighbor had no qualms about acknowledging Wilbur's existence, and he'd only taken a couple of steps onto the street before Schlatt called out to him. 

"Well, would you look at that: You’re finally out of the house! This is more of a miracle than anything I’ve done.". 

Wilbur turned around, counting down the seconds until he could not be where he was, having this conversation.

"Schlatt, we're supposed to be undercover."

"Oh, my bad. Guess these random humans will never get to know our big secrets.". Schlatt raised his voice slightly, yelling to the deserted cul-de-sac.

"Would be a shame if someone found out that guy over there is a demon! Yeah, the jerk with the beanie's from Hell, and I'm an angel, and we're only pretending to be human because (get this) one of the little tykes on your block is actually the antichrist!". 

Wilbur pinched the bridge of his nose. Was it possible to get headaches when his mind was only semi-corporeal?

"Could you kindly shut the fuck up?"

"Nope.". I mean, that's kind of on me for phrasing it as a question.

Schlatt took a break from the Annoying Wilbur Show (airs all times that he has the poor idea to go outside) to dig into more of his tomato sauce and meat wraps. 

He raised the snack like it was a holy relic. Wilbur supposed that if Schlatt really wanted to, he could make it into one.

"These are Hot Pockets. I was actually planning on taking a few over to you-know-who's family as a housewarming gift, build up good favor, you know?". Suddenly, the plan clicked in Wilbur's head. He tried to keep his face neutral and concerned, with no hint of a smirk.

"Hot Pockets? I mean, are you sure?"

"What's wrong with Hot Pockets? And choose your next words carefully.". Wilbur leaned against a streetlamp, sighing in assumed pity.

"There's nothing wrong with Hot Pockets per se. They're fine, I guess.". Schlatt sputtered, offended beyond belief.

"Fine? Fine? You see before you the one thing that has made me reconsider starting the apocalypse, and you're like "eh. fine". Fuck you and your family and whatever you call taste buds. Fine? I'd tell you to go to hell, but that doesn't work, so go to New Jersey you son of a-". 

This continued on for a while.

Wilbur nodded along to the tirade, maintaining a poker face. All the while, he telekinetically inched the tray of wrapped (?) Hot Pockets towards him. 

The tray crept ever closer, past Schlatt's lawn chair, past Schlatt's nightmarish garden gnomes, past the freshly dug earth that definitely had a body buried under it, until it was finally within reach.

Without listening to another word, Wilbur grabbed the Hot Pockets and ran for the hills, easily outrunning the outraged angel. 

Sorry, Schlatt, but you're going to have to try harder to win this game.

He sprinted to House #1 and rang the doorbell, trying to look non-suspicious. After about a minute, he got an answer from the selected father (Phil, his name was Phil). 

Wilbur smiled brightly and walked into the house.

------------

The initial meeting went great, putting the whole "getting threatened with a knife" thing aside. 

Phil seemed to appreciate the Hot Pockets and company, and Wilbur could confidently guess that he'd managed to secure a place in helping him out in the future. 

Besides being good for the plan in general, he'd liked spending time around Phil and Tommy. Wilbur didn't get to talk to people a lot, and when he did it was normally trying to scam them out of their soul. 

So, this was a welcome break. 

And his heart definitely hadn't been warmed when Tommy had fallen asleep to the sound of his guitar. Nope. Absolutely none of that.

Phil evidently didn't see child raising as his first priority, and Wilbur found more chances to volunteer to watch his kid than he expected. 

At times, he felt like he was just as much of a parent to Tommy as Phil, if not more. 

Which wasn't to say that he felt any bitterness about that. Quite the contrary. Watching after Tommy was one of the best parts of his day. 

Despite being a baby, the kid already had so much personality, and his little face would light up whenever Wilbur went home to House #1.

When Wilbur held the baby in his arms, he really did feel like a guardian. 

The phrase "guardian angel" had stung, but he did want to shield Tommy from harm or becoming anything like him when he grew up.

Still, it's not like his heart was at all warmed when he held Tommy in his arms-Oh, screw it. His heart was warmed. He happened to care about the adorable baby that he spent a lot of time with. Go figure. 

Caring wasn't interfering with his job as a protector, informant for Hell, and general influencer of evil. So, there was no purpose in denying it.

Besides the unexpected emotional attachment, nothing really changed about the general routine.

His days consisted of maintaining the glamours around his house, reading his books, writing (it turns out that an approaching Armageddon worked wonders for deadline motivation), staring at the ceiling and wondering why God had forsaken him, looking after Tommy, talking with Phil (and on occasion, That Weird Guy), giving the Lords of Hell their required project updates, and, occasionally, almost getting murdered.

One key example of the "almost getting murdered" thing happened when Tommy was around two years old.

----------------

He'd just gotten back from another meeting with the Lords (yes, Tommy is still alive. no, he isn't evil yet, seeing as he's two years old. no, that wasn't sarcasm. no, I'd actually prefer for you to not kill me for my insolence. Same old stuff.). 

It was a cold yet sunny winter afternoon when Wilbur stepped out of the office building and back into the mortal world. As he made his way towards the bus station, his phone rang.

The call was from Phil, and he moved away from the middle of the sidewalk to take it, leaning against the brick wall of a building next to an alleyway.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Will, a job came up tonight without much notice. Would you be able to watch Tommy around 7-ish?"

"Sure, I can do that."

"Great, you're a lifesaver. One last thing: If Techno decides to question you about your motives and backstory, don't take it personally, he's just in one of those suspicious phases lately. Okay?". 

Wilbur would have loved to agree, nonchalantly laugh it off, and quickly go over his backstory in his head again. 

Unfortunately for him, there was a weapon aimed at him from the alleyway.

It would be a funny sight to the passerby to see a normal-seeming person cower in the face of a spray bottle. 

Of course, the average passerby wasn't a demon. 

9 times out of 10, when a spray bottle was pointed at a demon, the spray bottle was full of holy water and the demon was in for a bad time.

Wilbur stood there, frozen. The alleyway was shady, and he couldn't quite make out who was aiming the bottle at him. 

Phil's voice echoed out of his phone.

"Will? Are you still there?". Wilbur tried to keep his voice steady, and he quickly responded.

"I'm here. I got it. I'll be ho-I'll be back soon. There is no need to call me back. Goodbye."

"What's that supposed to mean?". He tapped the screen, ending the call. Please, don't have me die right now. It would be annoying, not to mention narratively unsatisfying.

He looked into the alleyway, addressing whoever had seen fit to threaten him today.

"Hi there. I'm guessing that spray bottle isn't full of Sprite.". 

A man in a blue onesie (Sonic the Hedgehog cosplay?) emerged from the shadows.

"Yep. I mean, it technically was Sprite until it went through the blessing process, but it's a lot holier now.". Wilbur blinked a few times in confusion.

"Connor?"

"Hey."

"What's with the outfit? Why are you threatening me in an alley? What's with the outfit?"

"Don't mock the outfit, I have it on good faith that this is the height of human fashion."

"Let me guess. Schlatt told you that.". 

The onesie-clad angel stood there, realizing that taking the advice of that particular coworker probably wasn't the smartest decision he'd ever made. Eventually, he shrugged it off.

"Well, I feel resplendent, so this is a win in my book.". Wilbur tapped the bricks on the wall, almost playing a rhythm.

"Listen, Connor, if you were just going to kill me with that thing you would have already pulled the trigger. Why are you here?". Connor looked a little sheepish about the whole thing.

"The higher-ups thought that I should make you an offer you can't refuse. Basically, some intern had the bright idea that we should have Hell's guardian either agree to spy for us or die."

"You're suggesting that I become a double agent?"

"Yeah. Or die, whichever is your preference."

"I think your higher-ups underestimate my importance here. Killing me won't slow our side down by much. They'll just send another guy, and you'll have to spend more time in unpleasant alleyways."

"And someday they'll send a guy who takes our offer. Trust me, we've been planning this ever since we realized Schlatt was going to be useless down there.". Wilbur thought about it. 

Killing god obviously matters more than prolonging my life. And I'm a good actor, but I don't have enough time in my life to be a triple agent.

"Come on, Connor. I thought you were one of the decent ones.". Connor half-heartedly kicked at a puddle. 

His face was reluctant, but he still aimed the spray bottle with precision.

"Please tell me you're going to accept the offer?"

"You've known me for years. What do you think?"

"From what Schlatt has told me, you're too stubborn for your own good.". Wilbur laughed at that.

"Yeah. So the real question is: Can you murder me, Connor?". Connor shuffled, and the spray bottle wavered. Wilbur continued talking.

"I'm actually interested to see what you do next. You've got my full attention.". The two of them stood there, completely still. Finally, Connor pointed the spray bottle away from Wilbur and aimed for the sky.

"You've kind of made this whole thing weird, man. So, I'll give you a 15-second head start.".

Wilbur didn't waste time thanking him, and he sprinted away. 

He fled through shadows and smoke, barely remembering to keep some trace of a physical body. He scrambled his way towards the bus station, reaching the glass doors. 

However, that was where his luck ran out.

"Sorry, Wilbur. That's the power of the Sonic onesie: I'm really fast.". 

I'm going to need to invest in a Sonic onesie. Except I can't, because I'm about to be shot. Fuck, those are terrible last thoughts. 

Out of desperation, he grabbed the lid of the spray bottle and twisted it off, before punching Connor in the gut. The angel doubled over, and the holy water spilled out of the bottle. 

Wilbur scrambled away from the spill, trying to keep from making contact.

He ran through the doors and into the bus station. 

Some of the holy water had gotten on his coat, and he awkwardly shrugged it off in a corner, which was a shame. He'd really liked the aesthetic of having a trench coat. Sure, he could glamour another one in a few seconds, but it wouldn't feel the same. 

Connor walked towards him, and Wilbur glared.

"You made me lose my trench coat!"

"Again, sorry about all of this, it was just business.". Connor held out his arm in an almost peaceful gesture. 

And Wilbur, tired and overconfident, made the first stupid decision for the day. He took the peace offering and took Connor's hand.

The white-hot pain nearly knocked him to the ground. 

There had been less than a drop of holy water on his hand, but it was more than enough to stop Wilbur from breathing for a few minutes. 

In and of itself, that was fine. He didn't need to breathe to stay alive. All that he had to do was stay away from holy things, what had he done. 

In the background, Connor was frantically apologizing and claiming that he "didn't mean to do that". Wilbur wondered distantly why he'd still be lying to him.

And here I was thinking that there were one or two decent angels. How laughable. 

No one's decent 14 years from Armageddon. Not humans, not angels, and not me.

Wilbur shoved Connor away and walked up to the ticket counter. 

His hands were shaking and his words all over the place, but somehow he managed to convey that he wanted to take a bus back to town and pay for it. 

If I can get back to my house, I should be okay. Or, at the very least, not dead.

The bus ride was tricky. For one, part of the route was along Fundy's cursed highway (one of the demon’s more useless inventions), so things were significantly slowed down. 

Also, everything felt far away and cold, and it was a bit difficult to keep focus on which stop was his.

It took far too much time to reach town, and even more to make his way back to his street.

On auto-pilot, he ended up at House #1 first, panicking slightly when neither Tommy nor Phil was inside.

Trying to keep calm, he checked House #2, and thankfully That Weird Guy (he knew his name was Technoblade, but that was a ridiculous name, and he'd been thinking of him as That Weird Guy for so long that it was hard to stop) was keeping watch over Tommy. Relief washed over him.

I don't know what I'd do if he got hurt. 

That Weird Guy seemed fine with taking care of Tommy for a little longer, which Wilbur was secretly grateful for. 

He also seemed convinced that Wilbur was going to pass out, which was hilarious, seeing as Wilbur didn't need to sleep or breathe unless he wanted to. 

After a brief moment of rest in a bush, he made his way to his house.

He tried to unlock the door, but his hands were trembling too much to use the key, and he was seeing two locks instead of one, and he slowly slid to the ground.

Is this actually how it's happening? 

I know I'm not long for this world, but I always expected a better exit. Something with fanfare and sacrifice and meaning. 

Our so-called "immortality" is a conditional one. The instant we dare to touch something holy, it all goes, and there's no soul or afterlife for us castaways.

I wish I was human.

Wilbur struggled to look up at the sky. 

It was still daytime, and the stars weren't out yet. That was a shame, he'd worked hard on those. He shivered.

I know we're doomed to fail come Doomsday. I know that there's no way out of Your ineffable plan. But I'm trying to make directorial choices with your script, trying to make a good story. This is a terrible ending.

It was quiet. That was probably for the best.

Do I deserve it?

Of course I do.

But I didn't always, and you're not blameless either.

I hope that Tommy's too young to remember me.

The world was cold, but peacefully quiet, and the pain was mostly beyond his reach. This wasn't bad, all things considered. Wilbur's eyes closed.

A few minutes later, he was rudely awakened by Phil shaking him.

"Are you okay? I mean, obviously you’re not, but can you stand?". He opened one eye.

"I'm fine.". Phil laughed at that. Part of Wilbur considered laughing along, while what was left of his common sense informed him that Phil sounded like he was laughing out of shock.

"Fine? Will, there were a few seconds where I thought you were dead!"

"Well, as you can see, I'm not. If you could just unlock the door, that would be great.". The door unlocked behind him. 

He struggled to rise to his feet, and Phil caught his arm, supporting him.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"Minor business conflict."

"There is a hole in your hand.”

"That happens at my job sometimes. I'm in the mafia."

"Have you considered other career options?"

"The insurance benefits are too good.". Phil set Wilbur down on a couch and left the room. As was to be expected.

Wilbur reached under the couch cushions to grab a hidden cigarette lighter. 

He had no intention of smoking while bleeding out, obviously. 

The cigarette lighter had been modified slightly, another one of Fundy's inventions. 

The fire of the lighter was no regular thing, but rather hellfire. Hopefully, that would be enough of a cure.

The warmth of the hellfire slowly and painfully chipped away at the ice and purity, and he took a few seconds to internally mock god. 

Maybe a bit of a hubris-related thing to do, but Wilbur was glad to live another day, and that meant spite.

For whatever reason, Phil stuck around to make sure he was okay. 

Wilbur hadn't quite expected that. 

He wasn't in the best state, but Phil seemed to believe that it was better for him to be talking than unconscious. 

So, in a half-delirious state, he rambled about mercy, and free will, and falling.

And when he whispered that he missed flying, he could have sworn that Phil agreed.

----------------------

Anyway, aside from dramatic moments like those, life was okay.

Wilbur was there for every milestone in Tommy's life, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

He was there for his first few words when Tommy was a baby (the first word was "kaboom", but the second was "Wilby").

He was there for his first steps, and once Tommy learned to walk there was no stopping him from running everywhere.

He was there for preschool graduations and first days of kindergarten and beyond.

-----------------------

Of course, Wilbur's job was to teach the kid to want to kill god, and he tried to do that too. 

From the moment Tommy learned how to read, Wilbur kept trying to get him to read Paradise Lost. Sadly, he was six and Milton wasn't to his taste at the moment. 

Wilbur wasn't sure how well he did on that front, but he tried. 

Either way, he wasn't sure if he raised a suitably evil kid, but he raised a good one. 

Not good as in morally, obviously. Tommy was still a rascal at times, but he was the rascal that Wilbur cared about.

-----------------------------

Wilbur was the one to teach him how to ride a bike. 

Tommy was so determined to learn how to do it, and he kept getting up even when his knees were scratched up from crashing. 

When putting on band-aids, sometimes Wilbur would slightly heal him. Not so much that he wouldn't know to be careful, but just enough to ease the pain a bit.

Wilbur also taught him other valuable life skills like lock picking, lying, good taste in music, and how to pick pockets. The stuff every kid needed to know!

His reports to the Lords of Hell became less clinical, and more chatting about Tommy finally figured out how to ride a bike, and he's getting good grades in language arts, and he likes musicals too, and he's such a wonderful kid.

They'd mostly stare in confusion, and awkwardly ask him how that was helping Satan.

--------------------------

And he knew that every birthday meant that the two of them were one year closer to Doomsday. 

And he knew that he wasn't going to survive Doomsday.

Wilbur had a feeling since the moment he first fell that he'd have to redeem himself or go out in a blaze of glory. And, frankly, he felt too bitter towards his creator to aim for a redemption arc.

So, when Tommy turned eight, he knew that he had eight years left to live. 

And when he was ten, he knew he had six, and so on. 

That didn't stop Wilbur from baking a cake for him and singing.

He cared about Tommy quickly, and he later grew to care for Phil, and maybe even he would be vaguely upset if That Weird Guy died. 

Wilbur couldn't call this place a home, and he couldn't say they were his family, but it was the closest he'd ever gotten to that sort of thing. 

And sometimes, he could fool himself into thinking it could stay like this.

-------------------------

Once, he'd made the mistake of trying to taunt Schlatt about it.

They'd been talking, and Schlatt made one too many jabs about how he spent his days babysitting. 

He'd mocked the patch that Tommy had clumsily sewed into his new trenchcoat, and Wilbur got a bit annoyed.

"At least I've been doing my job and spending time with the antichrist! You've been completely useless down here, just sitting around in that lawn chair and drinking. I mean, it makes everything easier for me, but the fact still remains that I've been getting stuff done while you've been treating this like a paid vacation.".

Schlatt looked him dead in the eyes, setting down his glass.

"You think that you were smart, getting close to their family? Turning up the charm, making friends, stealing my goddamn Hot Pockets (which I'm still mad about)?". He laughed in his face.

"Wilbur, you're a fucking moron. You say that I haven't spent enough time around the family? You've spent way too much, and it's given you a bleeding heart."

"I don't have a-"

"Tommy's going to die in six years, you know. Kid's cute, but he's not going to survive the end of the world. He's a child, and God is God, and he's going to get smote like burnt chicken. It's just the facts.". Wilbur recoiled from him, hissing his next words through his teeth.

"Shut up."

"Did you even think about anything besides your own stupid martyrdom? Or were you too busy playing house and getting attachments? Face it, Wilbur: It's lunchboxes today, graves tomorrow.". 

For once, Wilbur had nothing to say. No clever response, nothing. Just pure panic. 

He touched the patch on his trench coat covering his heart, looking to the sky.

Please. I know you're a bastard. I know you hate me, and I hate you, and that can't change. But if you gave me some sign, some promise that you wouldn't hurt Tommy, I'd do anything. 

As always, there was no response.

-----------------------------

Wilbur cared about Tommy, and he knew, and even if it was a weakness he couldn't stop. 

All of Tommy's family cared about him, wanting him protected and alive.

But Schlatt?

Schlatt didn't give a damn about Tommy, and he never would.

There was no care weighing him down. And that meant that he had infinitely more options than everyone else.

[kevkesblog]

Translation: Julian Brandt Interview for “11 Freunde” (June 18, 2020)

Attention: long post! Julian talks about overblown salaries in football, why he even stays at two-star hotels, why he thinks football should not be dramaticly reformed and why you won’t see him in Gucci clothing & more.

Julian Brandt, what do you miss the most at the moment?

Ju:     Just going outside and sitting in a café with some friends. Enjoying a bit more freedom. But I think many people have the same wishes right now.

Yet, the break because of the Corona pandemic seem to have lifted you. You were involved in all four goals during the 4-0 win against Schalke.

Ju:     I would still have preferred it, without the break. I mean it’s like this: sometimes you need just a few days to arrive at a place, sometimes it takes months. Feeling well in a city, a club and with my teammates is important. I’m a football player that needs a comfortable environment.

How was it for you at BVB in the beginning?

Ju:     There were definitely no fireworks at the beginning. But honestly, I kind of expected to need more time. I think thats normal after five and a half years at Bayer Leverkusen. It was a great time there, but in the end it was a comfort zone for me. I switched to BVB because I wanted to do something new.

And because Marco Reus asked you.

Ju:     Many people were in favour of me going to Dortmund. Even my mother wore yellow pullovers astonishingly often, during the time before my transfer happend. And Marco asked me at the national team, that’s true. I felt honored, but I saw a chance playing for a team which plays competitively for the title until the end of the season and is represented in the Champions League regularly, those were the main reasons for my transfer.

What else is different in Dortmund than in Leverkusen?

Ju:     Dortmund is bigger in almost every regard. Even the stadium is enormous and it becomes even more imposing with people in it. Building such a stadium somewhere is one thing. Brining it to live however like in Dortmund – that’s an art in and of itself. You don’t get that very often in Europe. Leverkusen – and I have to be honest here – has never been on my radar for me as a boy. But it’s the perfect club if you want to develop as a young player. I already suspected this after I talked to Rudi Völler for the first time.

I was told, you said „Rudi Völler has honest eyes“ to your father afterwards.

Ju:     He has a sincere attitude. I would have believed everything he said. And his promises became reality. We were playing attractive and successful football. And you don’t get so much pressure as a young player from the outside. The media landscape for example is much smaller in Leverkusen than elsewhere.

Do you miss the fans in the stadium in Dortmund?

Ju:     I was never that guy who was aware of stuff that happend on the stands. But after the game against Inter Mailand, where we were behind 0-2 before the break and won 3-2 in the end – I recognized how important football is for the people here and how much they were willing to support us. It was so honest, authentic and direct. One of the best games thus far.

Before that Michael Rummenigge critized you as „C-youth player“. That was after the Inter game where you scored as well. Was that a key moment?

Ju:     Everybody can voice their opinions that’s totally fine for me. I’m not a person who jumps on it.  And I wasn’t really satisfied with my game as well. Perhaps the 2-1 win against Gladbach a few days before was a turning point. Not only, because I scored twice, but rather because I was able to play on the ten for the first time. After that my game became better.

You said in the beginning of your time at BVB „Peter Bosz liked the risk. We don’t really have that here in Dortmund“. Did the way you play now changed?

Ju:     We play nice football under Lucien Favre. He likes an offensive tactic. Adding that, we score alot of goals. But Peter Bosz was a special coach in that regard because we played a modern version of football with a high amount of ball possesion – often over 80 percent. And we not only wanted to keep the ball all the time, while playing until our opponent gets tired like it’s the case with tiki-taka football. We were always on the attack. At BVB we put more emphasis on the defensive at the beginning. It was a change for me, since I wanted to have the ball and not running behind him all the time.

Is football an elegant game?

Ju:     My room as child was full of „Bravo“-magazine posters with offensive players. Nedved, Robinho, Del Piero and the best among the best: Ronaldinho. I liked it whenever players carry their street football skills to the pitch. Whenever somebody is looking for something spectacular. I want to gamble and not just act in a rigid system.

Doesn’t modern tactics prevent something like this?

Ju:     You are basically being funneled at youth football academies with: receive the ball, passing, receiving, passing. There a strict requirements you have to follow. But I think good teams need self-confident players, saying „No, I won’t fit in, but I rather go into a one-on-one situation“. We have such guys in our national team. Leroy Sané or Timo Werner. Kai Havertz is a player who has a street football mentality too. Often it looks very easy, but it’s not. It just passed over into blood.

You are wearing the jersey number 10 at the national team. Like you also wore at Leverkusen. Does that do something with you?

Ju:     I feel lighter in some sense. Perhaps because I know that you have to earn the number ten. Not like in the past, but I do think it has a certain meaning yes.

We heard you don’t like to talk about your strengths. Why?

Ju:     I think, it looks like I’m a show off. I have enough self-confidence already.

Yet you do know that you can shoot really good. Who taught you?

Ju:     Many things happened because I just tried. I even knew as a ten-year old boy: if I want to become a great football player I have to be able to shoot well with both feet. So, for weeks I shoot with my left foot on our lawn. Shot, flank, pass. It helped a lot. I met Federico Palacios during my youth time in Wolfsburg. He taught me insane techniques. I had a phase were I was obsessively training my first contact: not trying to stop the ball between the lines, but rather take the ball without defender nor midfielder getting the ball instead.

What are your weaknesses?

Ju:     My headers. But I’m currently working on it and I often score. At least without opponent (laughs). Some people say I can work more on my defensive work. And yes, there is some truth to it, even after I already worked on it for quite some time. The thing is: I’m not an aggressive person, its not who I am. But of course, I understand whenever coaches say I need to have a certain minimum amount of aggressive behavior on the pitch.

Do you have a career plan?

Ju:     No, everything I do, I do spontaneously.

But everything you do looks so reasonable: youth football for your home club. Training at a football academy in Wolfsburg. Professional debut at Bayer Leverkusen, your transfer to BVB a year ago…

Ju:     Honestly: I could not have imagined going to VfL Wolfsburg as well at the beginning. Why should a boy do this, when he basically grew up just a 20 minute bike ride away from the Weser stadium in Bremen and was standing in the fan curve in his youth?

Because Werder [Bremen] overlooked you?

Ju:     That’s not true. I even got invited to a try-out training. But then I looked at some other academies. I wasn’t only looking at VfL Wolfsburg. For example I looked at FC St. Pauli as well. Yet, I had the best feeling with Wolfsburg.

Why?

Especially during the ages 15 to 18 a lot is happening: you grow, your muscle mass is increasing, you slowly get to play with the professionals. On the other hand, many doors are opening. Your friends go partying for example. I liked being on a football academy for two and a half years. You couldn’t leave the campus after 11 o’clock in the evening. Apart from that we were very successful and won the German a-youth championship. But I can still remember how perplexed my parents were at the breakfast table, back when I told them about my decision to join Wolfsburg.

You are being called the “Anti-Star” of the business quite often. Does that do something with you?

Ju:     Many people seem to think it’s probably because I have no tattoos and my father is my agent. But to be honest: there are some football player clichées I fit in. I like fast cars. I like playing playstation and I have 40 pairs of shoes in my closet. I just try not to pretend to be someone else. I wouldn’t look good in a Gucci-pullover.

Others like to call you “premature”. You were allowed to train with the professionals at the age of 15 in Wolfsburg. How did you do that?

Ju:     That was insane and unreal. I was riding my bike to the training ground one day and the assistant coach Bernd Hollerbach took me to his side and said: “Introduce yourself to the coach”. So, I went into his office. “Hello Mr. Magath, I’m Julian from the under-17 team.” Of course, I was suspecting he already knew me otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten an invitation. But he was just staring at the television. After a while – it felt like an eternity – he looked at me, didn’t say a word, total silence and then he turned away. And then I was sneaking out of the room.

Magath wanted to test you?

Ju:     I was unsettled a bit, but I wasn’t thinking about it anymore on the pitch. It doesn’t matter who is on your side, or whether your opponent is twenty years older than you and who your father is.

Did you nutmeg someone?

Ju:     I would have been beaten for that. On the other hand: the pain fades away, the nutmeg stays (laughs). I remember I unintentionally shoot a ball into Marvin Hitz’s face.

How many agents were lining up at your doorstep at the time?

Ju:     I stopped counting it after a while. I don’t think all agents are bad but I don’t need one at the moment. I have my father. He may not be Mino Raiola with thousands of contacts all over the world. But he doesn’t need them.

Nevertheless: this son-father-constellation also has it’s potential conflicts…

Ju:     Our family sticks together – we are very harmonic and strong. I can’t remember a time where we were had an argument. I lived together with my brother in Cologne. I also have a connection with my father because of football. He used to play for the first team at SC Borgfeld – which was also my first club. I still remember: we went into the clubhouse whenever the Champions League was on. It was the best day of the week.

Now it’s about big business. Do you know your own worth?

Ju:     It was downgraded since the outbreak of the pandemic. I read that on so some sites.

But it’s still 40 million euros. What does such a number do with you?

Ju:     I can handle that because I can manage those numbers quite well. There is a lot money floating around in football. And I know its not easy to comprehend it with normal standards anymore. We live in our own bubble in that regard. The salaries in football are in no relation to what normal people earn – even with football being the greatest sport on earth. But why is that the case? Because sponsors are flushing so unbelievable high amounts of money into football. I think it’s important not to make the sport a luxury item. It has to stay affordable. In the stadium as well as in front of the TV.

Explain to us: why does a professional football player negotiate whether he should get 10 or 11 million euros per year?

Ju:     It shows how greedy people can be sometimes. But that’s not football specific. It’s as unfair as the richest one percent of the world’s population owning more than half of the world’s wealth, right?

Could this crisis perhaps be a chance in order for football to calm down?

Ju:     Perhaps in the short term. For the next one or two years. If any. I can’t imagine a player like Mbappé being sold next year for 80 million euros. Someone will always pay those insane sums of money.

How do you ground yourself?

Ju:     Through my family and friends. Many are studying or doing an apprenticeship. It’s never about money when we talk, I just like having a great time with them. We don’t need a luxury vacation. But one time: we went to Mallorca for four or five days just as we qualified for the Champions League with Bayer Leverkusen. We stayed at a normal two-star-hotel, one room with a bed and a bathroom – that was it. We went to the beach and relaxed.

Has there never been a situation where a friend or family member had to take you back to the ground?

Ju:     No. I can’t remember that I ever reacted arrogant or snooty. Or a situation where I thought: “Wow. That’s not who you are”. I’m fully aware of my very privileged life. In short: my greatest worry is whether we will win or loose on the weekends. It’s important to be thankful and to remind yourself what you got every once in a while.

Why do you have to remind yourself stuff like that all the time?

Ju:     In order for it never to become normal. I know cheese costs about 69 cents at the grocery store and a different one costs 1,29 euros. But if a tool or device breaks down I sometimes just buy myself a new one. Whereas in the past I would have repaired it by myself.

But is football still the same game you fell in love with as a kid?

Ju:     Absolutely. The game itself hasn’t really changed much. Okay, we have the goal line technology – which I support. And we got the video assistant referee, were people can argue. I abstain in that question. Once in a while, new ideas are being floated: like reducing the playtime to 60 minutes, new tournaments, elite leagues – I think it’s all bullshit. Keep football like it is. The way we learned it. With all its faults and tricky aspects. Even if something goes wrong.

Like during the World Cup 2018. Did you know that you could be the first DFB-team leaving the tournament after the group stage?

Ju:     At some point he heard of it. It doesn’t really look good on your vita but it happened. Perhaps we needed this in order for something new to emerge. You have to remember: other great football nations also failed in similar ways. Italy, Spain or France all crashed out of the group stage after they won the World Cup.

Did the photo with Mesut Özil and Erdogan brought some unrest into the team?

Ju:     The fact that almost all reporting was revolving around that topic was irritating sometimes. Don’t get me wrong: I think its important for the media to cover political topics extensively and with background stories. But I remember after the game against Sweden – after we barely won because of Toni Kroos free kick: shortly after the game you get asked whether the poor performance during the first 75 minutes were due to the photo – and you thinking: why don’t we talk about the game? Mesut became the poster boy for the disappointing World Cup. That’s nonsense. We all played shitty.

During the Confed-Cup the year before, many young players were in the team. At the World Cup the established players came back. Did Löw put his trust into the wrong players in Russia?

Ju:     You can come to that conclusion afterwards, but you don’t know it in advance. I could fully understand Low though. He was loyal and in some cases he felt some gratitude. He couldn’t and he didn’t want to replace a World Cup winner from 2014 with a young player. The way we were defeated at the World Cup was not foreseeable. Because we also played great football between 2014 and 2018.

The team made it to the semifinals at the EURO 2016 and you became second with the Olympic football team in Rio.

Ju:     A great experience with a team that was just thrown together. A contribution of Horst Hrubesch.

What makes him special?

Ju:     He is just great, the guy! He’s from a different generation which you can tell with a lot of things around him. Once he wanted to show me how to shot from the side. I almost tore my muscle fiber doing it. But he manages it very well forming a team with young players. He’s a very free coach and very direct. He always called me lazy (laughs). And he has a very nice and dry sense of humor.

An example?

Ju:     Me and the Bender-twins were sitting together shortly before the semifinal against Nigeria. He came up and said: “Guys, losing today doesn’t make any sense anymore.” A funny sentence, but also true if you think about it.

Julian Brandt, you made over 200 Bundesliga games, played Champions League and participated in one World Cup. You just turned 24. Do you even still have time to suck it all in and enjoy it?

Ju:     Football is quick. I can still remember coming to Leverkusen – as if it was yesterday: my first game for the under 23 team against Essen. My Bundesliga debut against Schalke a week later. That was a little more than six years ago already. Crazy. Veteran players always say: “Enjoy it, because quickly your career will be over.” But how should you enjoy it? A game every four or five days. New photos, new events. You don’t have an awful lot of time to let everything sink in for a moment. I usually do that on new years eve. On a friend’s balcony. I even get sentimental then.

[drawlfoy]

The Wonders of Ohio P.4

masterlist - find parts 1, 2, and 3 here

request guidelines

did you miss me :P

pairing: draco x reader

requested: by prepubescent me

summary: american high school student y/n y/l/n’s senior year gets turned upside down when her family hosts a british exchange student that’s clearly keeping some secrets.

warnings: language and drug use mentions

a/n: hi everyone...i know that this has been a long time coming but. here she is. i finally finished this after the draft sat for over 6 months...here she is though! i’m excited weeee

tags tags tags

word count: 2k

music recs: hate candidate by BLOODHYPE, archie, marry me by alvvays

“No, no,” Y/N interrupted,  gently pushing Draco’s hands away from his locker. “It’s right to the number, left past the next number once, and right straight to the last number. You twist it right to reset it...no, like this...”

“This is pathetic, I don’t even need to put anything in a box in the wall,” Draco snarled, his gray eyes flaming.

“It’s really not that deep,” she said, snorting at his attitude. “Do they not have locks in England?”

Instead of answering, he huffed dramatically and scowled. “Open it up for me, will you? It’s not worth my time to learn.”

“You’re going to be here for a whole year, you know.” Y/N’s remark contradicted with her actions as she reapproached the locker and twisted out the combination. “But how can I say no to you, ever the gentlemen?”

She held out a hand out expectantly as he stared at her, his eyes full of confusion. 

“Your phone,” she said.

“My...my what?”

“I know, it’s weird, but they prohibit phones in orientation. Something about bonding or whatever. Just give it here, and we’ll keep it in here. If it goes off in any of the activities they’ll take it from you.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Okay, okay, I respect that attitude.” Y/N smirked, patting him on the shoulder as he flinched away from her. “Just don’t be mad at me when they confiscate it until 2.”

He stared at her for a few seconds longer before clearing his throat and nodding. 

<^>

The speeches at the beginning were always the longest part--the unnecessary dramatization of the importance of high school, the faux motivation mantras, the “love yourself” bits ironically being performed by some of the most insufferable members of the ASB--and Y/N was ready to get it over with, Draco seemed to feel the same way, as every time she looked at him, he looked another shade of uninterested.

She tried poking fun at the performances a couple times to see his reaction, and surprisingly enough, it was slightly well received.

“You see the redhead down there?” she whispered to him, gesturing towards the current speaker with her chin. He gave her a tight nod in response. “That’s Heather, our ASB president. She’s a total tool. Spews all this ‘vaping in the bathrooms isn’t cool!’ shit but one time I walked in on her doing lines in the performance wing bathrooms. She’s crazy, I’m telling you.”

Draco seemed amused at this, resting his cheek in his palm and watching her intently. “Lines?”

“Cocaine.”

“Cocaine?”

“You know what? I’m gonna quit while we’re ahead. I don’t want to be the one to corrupt you.”

Draco scoffed. “You’re worried about corrupting me?”

“Well, yeah,” she said. “I’m not the one who doesn’t know what cocaine is.”

He sniffed at this, turning his attention back to Heather’s mind-numbing anti-bullying presentation that was clearly put together moments before. Silence ensued for the next few moments before Draco sucked in a breath and turned to look at her. “What’s an ASB?”

“Oh, you should be so glad that you have to ask that,” Y/N stage whispered. “It’s student government. It’s an acronym for something. I never cared enough to remember it. The elections are super corrupt--it’s basically a popularity contest. They don’t do anything either...I don’t even know why it exists anyways.”

“So I take it you’re not popular?” 

“By choice, I’ll have you know,” Y/N pointed out. “I just made friends with the people I had stuff in common with. We all just happened to not be big fans of putting vodka in our Hydroflasks and the like...What I mean by that is that we aren’t big partiers.” She was quick to clarify when she saw the confusion on Draco’s face. 

He didn’t seem to understand any more of what she had said, or at least didn’t show any interest in it, scooting away a few inches from her and turning his head back to Heather’s speech.

The presentation ended within another 10 minutes, much to Y/N’s delight. One had been enough for her--two orientations was pushing it.

Maybe that’s why all the ASB kids are so awful she thought to herself as they made they way to Draco’s first class on the schedule. If I had to be here every year, I’d probably be a grade A rat as well.

“How’d they put you in AP Physics C?” Y/N asked him as they walked into the science lab. “I’m in your same period...and I had to take two years of physics before that to be qualified to take it. Did you take a Physics A level or something? Is that what they call it?”

Draco blinked twice. “Er...sure. My professors told me that I was skilled in Arithmancy, if that’s what you mean..?”

“Arithmancy? Is that just a fancy word for math?” she pressed. “I thought you guys just called it maths.”

“You could say so.”

Before she could push for any more answers, someone behind them cleared their throat. Y/N spun around, her face lighting up when she saw who it was.

“Mr. Whitacre!” she exclaimed. 

“Y/N, my least favorite student,” he greeted, a cheeky smile concealed by a rather bushy black beard. “I’m surprised they haven’t kicked you out of orientation. Haven’t you head? This is supposed to be an event for new students...not jaded old souls such as yourself.”

“Oh, you know me.” She rested one of her hands on a lab table, raising an eyebrow. “I just couldn’t stay away from the thrilling suggestion of physics.”

“Sure. And you are...” 

Draco just stared at him for a few seconds with a disgusted expression until Y/N elbowed him in the side, hard. “You’ll have to excuse Draco. He’s still going through jet lag. Aren’t you, Draco?” 

Y/N sent him a death glare until he wiped the expression off his face and uttered an awkward, “Er, yeah.”

The rest of orientation was just as uncomfortable and unnatural as Draco’s introduction to Mr. Whitacre. Y/N was surprised to see that they had a very similar schedule as Draco seemed entirely clueless to what the subjects even were. She mentioned her concerns to him briefly, but he seemed entirely unbothered.

“It can’t be any harder than school back home,” he told her in his prim and proper voice, prompting a small smile to grow across Y/N’s face. 

“Oh, I’m sure,” she said, her voice hardly containing her sarcasm.

The rest of the morning was spent toiling around each of the empty classrooms and memorizing room numbers so Draco wouldn’t be lost come Thursday morning. Y/N wasn’t having an entirely terrible time, as, much to her surprise, Draco wasn’t a complete dickwad. There were moments where he actually had something interesting or worthy to say, and when he didn’t look like he just stepped in something disgusting, she enjoyed the walks between classes. By the end of 5th period, she had concluded that Draco could make absolutely anything sound beautiful in his accent.For once, they were both being entirely civil to each other, and Y/N found herself wishing that the school day went on a bit longer. At least...until the walk to French.

“Excuse me,” a voice carried over Y/N’s as she was in the middle of telling Draco some particularly hot gossip from last year. “I don’t think I’ve seen you here before.”

Heather stood to their left, leaning coolly on the wall of lockers, her right shoulder just subtly dropped in their direction. 

“Hey Heather,” Y/N greeted. “This is Draco. He’s our exchange student this year.”

“Hello.” Draco’s voice was stiffer than usual.

She smiled, her lips stretching out over perfectly straight white teeth. “Hi Draco! Listen, I know it can be hard here at first, especially if you haven’t grown up around here, but I swear we’re all super friendly.” She held out her hand, smiling even wider. Y/N hardly managed to hold back a laugh as Draco took it and limply shook it like one would fondle a dead fish. 

Heather’s face remained just as cheery. “I just want to say that, as ASB president, it’s my job to make sure you feel like you fit in. Let me give you my snapchat, so if you ever need anything, I’m just one snap away.”

“Oookay, thank you Heather,” Y/N interrupted, wrapping her fingers around Draco’s sleeve and pulling. “I’ll give it to him tonight if he wants it. We have to find French now.” She couldn’t tell if it was just her imagination, but she swore that she could see Draco send her a slightly grateful look.

“AP French? Quelle coïncidence! I’m headed there too.”

No matter how briskly she dragged Draco along, Heather was able to catch up and chatter away, asking him about life in the UK and how he found Americans. She couldn’t help but allow a little smirk when he answered, telling her “a little annoying, quite frankly.” 

French was even more insufferable than she was expecting it to be. The strict teacher, M. Smith (despite being more American than everyone in the room, yes, he did insist on being called Monsieur), coupled with the weird, forlorn glances Heather kept sending Draco made Y/N feel crushingly uncomfortable. With the way that Draco was fidgeting, she could guess that he felt the same way. 

Suddenly, 2 couldn’t come soon enough.

<^>

“So, what’d you think?” Y/N asked as they made their way back to Y/N’s car. She toyed with her lanyard, turning and twisting the keys until they couldn’t twist anymore. 

Draco stepped over to the passenger side door, waiting for her to press unlock. “Your friend Heather is very friendly.”

“She’s not my friend, Draco, I already told you that.”

“She certainly comes up to talk to you a lot for someone who isn’t your friend.”

She shifted into drive and began pulling out of the parking lot. “It’s an American thing. And plus, she wouldn’t be talking to me if I didn’t have a pretty boy with an accent living with me.”

Draco froze up, sending her a weird sideways look.

“Don’t be so overdramatic, kiddo,” she continued. “American girls go crazy for British accents. Trust me. There’s going to be so many girls throwing themselves at you come tomorrow that you won’t even know what to do with yourself.”

Y/N tried to keep the bitterness from creeping into her tone as she told Draco this. It wasn’t like she liked him or anything--no way--it was just frustrating to know that the moment he stepped foot on the school grounds tomorrow, he would be snapped up into a flurry of admirers. These few days had felt like she was keeping a delicate, sophisticated secret in the guest room in the hall over, but it was time for her to snap out of it. 

“The feeling certainly isn’t mutual,” he finally said. Y/N could see that his head was rested against the window as he looked out into the trees as they passed by a particularly wooded area. “American accents give me a migraine.”

“Funny, me too.”

“But you have one.”

“Your point? Pass me the Advil.”

“The...the what?”

Y/N sucked in a deep breath and tried to keep herself from bursting out into a cackle. “Paracetamol, maybe? I think that’s the British version.”

“Er...I’m sorry?” Draco had moved his head from its resting place on the window to send her a confused look.

“Forget about it.”

The drive back was silent for the rest of the way. Upon arriving, Draco made a beeline for his room and made no indication of wanting to come back out, so Y/N spent the rest of the evening ironing out her physics problem sets and getting her backpack ready for school. 

My last first day she thought to herself as she zipped her binders and pencil pouch up, a hint of nostalgia threatening to choke her up for a moment. 

The entire situation felt eerie and strange. All her life, she’d been waiting to get out of school so she could go to college and meet new friends and have her fun life experiences, and now it was all beginning to happen. She tried to imagine how Draco must’ve been feeling in that moment and could hardly manage to come up with anything she could relate to. He’d been uprooted from his home, his family, his life, all to move to fucking Ohio of all places to finish out school. Y/N would feel a twinge of pity if he wasn’t such a prick.

Which, by the way, now that she really thought of it, was perhaps becoming overshadowed by all the little things she noticed about him. Obviously, he was very pretty, but there was something else just magnetizing about him that she’d never seen before in a person. The way in which he carried himself, the regal manner he spoke in, the delicate and practiced motions of his hands whenever he did anything menial--it all added up to paint Draco as the picture of elegance. She came to the realization that she’d never met anyone quite like him before as she was getting into bed and turning her lights off. He seemed so incredibly detached from reality, but decidedly so, that she couldn’t help but feel fascinated with it all. 

And he was all hers to figure out for the next 9 months. 

final a/n: huhhhh isn’t that funny that i actually came out with a different fic than i said i would? i think i want to do that quarantine thing a little bit later and make it a series. i’ve planned that i want to finish mirror, mirror in the coming weeks and then transfer to writing the “one shot” that was scheduled to be posted today as a series as well as this. exciting stuff to come!